Fixer Upper
by SpringHiller09
Summary: Edward is a single dad and Bella isn't as happy as she'd like to be with her fiancé. The two of them meet as Edward starts the adventure of fixing up an old house and as hard as they try, they can't stay away from each other.
1. As I Close My Eyes

**Chapter One: As I Close My Eyes**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"Swan's Hardware, this is Bella speaking. How may I help you?" I asked the customer on the other line when I answered their call.

"Yes, I was wondering what brand of paint you sell?" The man on the other line asked.

"All of the major brands, sir." I explained. "Behr, Benjamin Moore..." I continued to list our most common name brands and then went to offer him our not so big paint samples.

Grandma Swan told me that when my Dad was a kid, she could barely get him out of the garage. He would spend all day hammering and sawing and just building things. Before he was born, my Grandma Swan had turned the garage into his personal workshop for his furniture building company. It was small and cramped, but he loved being able to work from home. When my Dad was born, Grandpa Swan had him in that garage the second he was able to hold a hammer.

Dad considered going to carpentry school to be like his Dad, but he said he wanted to do something bigger with his life. Grandpa was sad when Dad told him he wouldn't be carrying on the family business, but he couldn't be mad when he told him what he planned on doing. Dad decided to get his business associates degree and open up a little hardware store, just a few blocks down from my grandparents.

Dad was smart while he was building up his company. To help get him on his feet, my grandparents helped a lot and my Dad didn't need to hire anyone for the first few months. Then, his store got more popular since it was the only small, family friendly hardware store on the Northside of Jacksonville. Dad didn't become an instant sensation, but his company grew. By the time him and Mom got married, he'd had to move locations once and then he moved into our current store just after I was born.

I was really proud to my Dad's one and only daughter. From a young age, he had me in this store, teaching me the value of a dollar and good work ethic. Everyday after school, the bus would drop me off here and I would help him with inventory and then he'd always teach me something to do with tools. I was never very good and broke a few a my fingers when Dad let me have the hammer, but I didn't care. I got to spend time with my parents and that was what mattered.

Our lives were essentially perfect. Mom was an amazing third grade teacher and Dad was a successful business owner. My parents were so in love that it made me want to hurl when I was younger. But, now, it made me see what a perfect relationship looked like. With our lives as perfect as they were, we never would have thought the unthinkable would happen to us.

It was a normal day. I had come home in tears, like I had been since starting middle school, and Dad taught me a lesson. He told me that being different was a good thing and being normal was overrated. It wasn't what a twelve year old wanted to hear, but he was right. I didn't need blonde hair and blue eyes to be pretty and by the time I was finished crying, Dad was telling me I needed to get my homework done.

I sat at the front counter like I always did with Jenny, the high school senior just trying to get some extra cash. She helped me with my math questions while Dad helped customers find what the needed. When the phone started ringing, none of us answered it since I wasn't allowed to answer the phone and both Jenny and Dad were with customers.

But...then the phone wouldn't stop ringing. It rang the entire time Jenny checked out the customers and Dad helped the same customer. Finally, the man Dad was helping had gotten what he needed and Dad reached across the counter to answer the phone.

I'd never seen anyone turn to pale in such a short amount of time before. It was like a switch had been flipped and all the color automatically drained from his face. He hung up the phone and kicked everyone out of the store, and grabbed my hand. He pulled me through the store and barely remembered to lock the door before throwing me in the back seat of his truck.

We drove the the hospital and if I hadn't reminded him about me, he probably would have left me in the truck. He pulled me into the ER waiting room and demanded answers from doctors. No one could give us any answers so we sat and waited. I didn't know what we were waiting for, but I knew it was bad. ER's didn't mean lollipops and rainbows. I cuddled to my Dad's side, but he barely recognized my presence.

Finally, after an hour, a doctor in navy blue scrubs came and told us that they did everything they could. Dad cried out and fell to the floor and when I asked what he meant, he told us that they couldn't save my Mom. Some idiot on their phone had ran a red-light and hit my Mom...killing her.

The week leading up to the funeral was the first time I'd ever seen Dad close the store for more than a day at a time. He spent most of his time with the funeral home director and made me go to school. I was twelve, yes, but I didn't entirely understand what was happening so I didn't complain when he made me get up and go to school.

It wasn't until two days after the funeral when I woke up when I realized just how much we'd lost. Mom was Dad's best friend and my rock. She was their every time I fell...which was a lot...to make everything better. She studied for every spelling test with me. She braided my hair and helped me pick out my outfits for school.

She was everything to me and some idiot took her from me.

Dad was a champion about it though. I could tell everyday was hard just waking up, but he did it. He woke up everyday and made sure I had breakfast before going to school. He kept the store open so there would be food on our table and so we wouldn't be without water or power. He took my to soccer practice and to sleepovers and to the library. He did everything he was supposed to, and to this day I still don't know how he managed to do it.

"Yes, sir, we're open on Saturdays." I told the man on the phone after he asked me a few more questions. "Yes," I said once again answering his questions. "You have a good day sir. Thanks, I will. Goodbye." I hung up the phone.

"Hey, Bells." Dad mumbled as he walked over to the counter after coming downstairs from his office. One thing that did change dramatically when Mom died was the fact that Dad was in the store front less. When I was a kid, he was always down here, helping company and making sales. When Mom died, he quit doing that and hired a manager to help run the floor. He spent most of his time in the office working on orders and going through applications.

"Hi, Daddy." I smiled as he came behind the counter, kissing my cheek.

"How're things down here?" He asked as he looked through our order binder.

"You would know if you came out of that office." I pushed. I'd been pushing for him to get back in the store ever since my junior year of college, but he always refused. Today he resorted to shrugging and rolling his eyes at me.

I had gone to the University of Florida and got a degree in business, concentrating in finance. I had always been good with numbers and I had my Dad to thank for that. He started teaching me about how you run a store and how you manage all kinds of finance. So, when the time came to pick a college, I made the decision to follow in my Dad's footsteps and get a degree in business. When I graduated, Dad offered me a job at the store immediately working as his financial manager.

I couldn't say no to my Dad. With what he was offering to pay me along with the fact that I'd get to work with him, it was a perfect job. Dad was my best friend and all the other job offers sucked compared to his. I accepted his offer on the spot and took over for Marcus who had just moved due to his wife's job.

I had been graduated for two years and loved every second working for my Dad. He was an amazing boss, obviously, and we worked well together. We always had worked well together, even before my Mom's death. But, since Kate had just given birth to her first child, Dad was having a hard time finding her replacement. Kate was in college and was grateful for the job Dad had given her, but once she had the baby, she had to stop working.

So, I decided to fill in for her until he could find a replacement. I loved working in the store with the customers. It's something I'd been doing since I was fifteen and a freshman in high school and it was something I'd continued to do through college. Working in a hardware store wasn't the most glamorous thing in the world, but I loved it.

"When's that dumb ass boyfriend of yours going to be here?" He grunted, turning to me.

"My _fiancé_ is scheduled for three, Dad." I sighed. Mike and I had been engaged for four months now and Dad had refused to call him my fiancé. Dad and Mike had never really gotten along, even when Mike and I were just friends.

Mike and I met my sophomore year and his junior year at UF and just clicked. I could tell he was head over heals for me, but I didn't know how I felt yet. But, he never let his feelings for me get in the way of our friendship and by the time that school year ended, we were attached at the hip.

When he asked me out at the start of the next year, I was hesitant. We were great friends and I didn't want anything to ruin that. But, then I realized that being best friends was an important part to a romantic relationship. Mom and Dad had been friends for years before he mustered up the courage to ask her out, and they'd still be happily married if she were alive.

We weren't very serious at first and I liked it that way. It took all the pressure off dating someone for the first time and I was able to breathe as I got ready for our dates. But, as the year progressed, we slowly got more serious and at Christmas, he told me that he was committed and he wasn't going anywhere. The decision on where the relationship was going was on me and I decided to commit to him as well.

Mike had graduated a year before I did with a degree in computer science. He had found a decent job close by but by the time I graduated, they were laying people off. Mike was one of the newest and youngest employees and he was one of the first people to be laid off. He kept telling me that it was okay and that he'd find another job soon, so I didn't worry about him. But, then he didn't find a new job and we needed to be a two person income family because we'd just signed our lease for a new apartment close to my Dad.

So, I begged and begged and begged Dad to hire him because he was desperate. Dad said that he didn't need any help in the store and he wasn't going to fire a loyal employee so that my lazy ass boyfriend wouldn't end up on the street. When he told me that I put my hands on my hips and stared him down, knowing that Jake needed help on the loading dock and he desperately needed help creating the orders and shipping them off.

Dad finally agreed, but only if Mike was willing to help with the computers when they were acting up.

"I still think you could do bet..."

"Dad," I wined, not wanting to get in this with him for the hundredth time.

"Sorry." He mumbled under his breath. "How is Jake doing?"

"He's a nervous wreck." I laughed. Jake was my childhood best friend and he also worked here at the store. Jake was always one who could never sit still and he wasn't the best in school. When he made the decision not to go to college, Dad hired him as a manager, and Jake accepted on one condition. Jake wanted to be working on the floor, running around and not at a desk. Dad made the deal and he'd been working here since he was eighteen.

"He loves that girl." Dad smiled a rare smile. "Marrying her will be a piece of cake."

"I don't think it's the marriage that scares him." I told him. "It's Carmen's family that scares him." His soon-to-be wife was amazing, but her family was nothing like her. Carmen was sweet and hardworking and loving. Her family was pretty cold, spoiled and...plain mean sometimes. Jake didn't even get her fathers permission before asking her to marry him, but he did it anyway because he loved Carmen.

"They'll get over it." Dad shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Just because you and Mom had the picture perfect romance, doesn't mean everyone will."

"Has Jake gotten everything together for while he's on his honeymoon?" Dad asked, changing the subject. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately whenever I would bring up Mom. When I was younger, he was always willing and wanting to talk about her. But, lately it was like he wanted to pretend she'd never existed. I wanted to know why he was doing it, but then I wasn't even sure if he knew he was doing it.

"Swan's Hardware, this is Charlie speaking. How may I help you?" Dad asked as he took a call, something that was rare for him. While he was talking to a customer, I began shelving our new order of paint rollers to help pass the time since we were pretty dead.

"Bella, I'm going back up to my office!" Dad called from the counter. When I was finished stocking the paint rollers, I heard the front door open and I went back to the counter. I smiled when I saw Mike walking down the aisle, his blonde hair too long and out of control.

"Hey, baby." I smiled as he leaned across the counter and brushed his lips against mine.

"Hi." He smiled. I knew he hated the situation. He hatted that he'd gotten his job because I asked Dad to give it to him. He hated that he spent $21,000 to work at a hardware store. I didn't want him to hate this job because I thought it was pretty great, but I could understand why he didn't want to be here. He'd worked hard in school and not everyone had a Dad who owned a business who could give them a job right away.

"Jake had to leave early to get ready for his rehearsal dinner." I told him. "But, he said he organized the orders in the back and you just have to box and pack them with the packing peanuts." He nodded as he pulled his apron on and headed to the back.

Since I was still Dad's financial manager, I got to work on the budget for the month on the downstairs computer while we were still kind of dead. As I was typing, I looked down at my beautiful engagement ring Mike had gotten me. He really was a great guy and I did love him, but sometimes I couldn't picture us married with kids and the white picket fence. Sometimes, I thought of my parents love and how intense that was before my Mom died. I thought of how Dad would have gladly been in that car if that meant she didn't have to be. I knew Mike loved me, but if I had a gun to my head...I wasn't completely sure he'd tell them to take him instead. I put those stupid thoughts in the back of my mind and started to focus again. Of course Mike would take a bullet for me. We were in love. We were happy.

But, were we happy? I mean, we were comfortable and we loved each other. But, were we truly happy? That was a question I found myself asking a lot lately. I was sure it was just wedding jitters and I would get over it eventually. Marriage was a big step and until I met Mike, I didn't really think of it a lot. But then he was down on one knee and I was so swept up in the moment, I couldn't say no.

"Bella?" I heard Mike's soft voice ask from behind me.

"Yeah?" I asked, turning to face him.

"It's time to go." He nodded to the digital clock setting on the desk. It was Friday and since opening the store, Dad always closed to the store earlier on Friday and Saturday. I nodded and finished quick what I'd been working on and went up to say goodbye to my father. When I got to his office, I caught him looking at one of our last family pictures before Mom died and I decided not to say anything. He was working through something and if he needed or wanted my help, he'd ask.

"Daddy?" I whispered, catching his attention. "Mike and I are heading out."

"Okay, sweetie." He nodded, putting his reading glasses back on. Some nights I wasn't even sure if Dad went home or if he just slept on the couch in his office. I wanted to believe that he was able to go home and sleep in his own bed, but I knew that house only gave him nightmares. The only reason we didn't move after she died was because she loved our house more than anything in the world. Dad knew she'd never want us to get rid of it, so we stayed.

"Ready?" Mike asked, pulling his car keys out of his pockets. I nodded and he placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me out of the store. When we got home, I made us dinner while he continued to job search. He'd had plenty of interviews since getting laid off from his first job, but most of the places he interviewed at wanted more experienced workers.

"You'll find something, Mike." I whispered as we ate dinner. "You're really good at what you do and someone's going to notice that."

"I just don't understand how I'm supposed to get more experienced if no one is going to hire me." He ran his hands through his hair. "I mean, do you get that?"

"I get why they'd want experienced workers." I nodded. "But, you have a valid point." I agreed. "Maybe I can talk to Dad and have him..."

"No." He shook his head. "No more hand outs from your Dad. He doesn't even like me."

"He doesn't know you." I insisted. "You two have barely spoken and we've been together for three and a half years and you've barely spoken to me."

"Because he doesn't like me!" He argued stubbornly. "And you know that I've made attempts with him, Bella."

"Give him time." I whispered. "He's stubborn and he doesn't want me getting hurt."

"I'm not going to hurt you." He rolled his eyes.

"Just be patient." I smiled.

"You're lucky I love you." He rolled his eyes again.

"Yeah," I laughed nervously. "So lucky."


	2. Have No Fear

**Chapter Two: Have No Fear**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

"How, Edward?" Mom asked as she set a cup of coffee down in front of me. "How could you have let this happen?"

"I don't know, Mom." I sighed, taking a sip of the warm coffee. "Lauren and I...we're always safe. We use condoms."

"Obviously not." Carlisle rolled his eyes and Mom slapped him for it. Even though he wasn't my biological father, he was the best man I ever knew. I was really glad my Mom found him after my asshole biological father was killed in a car accident on a weekend getaway with his secretary.

Fucking ass.

"Dad, I swear." I whispered. I knew they'd be disappointed in me. I was their idiot son who'd managed to get his girlfriend pregnant within only a few months of dating. Lauren and I met at the end of sophomore year, but because we were so close to being done, we didn't start dating until August. We had only been dating for six months when she called me.

"Well, what are your plans?" Mom asked. She knew there was no use fighting about it because what's done was done. No one could fix it and we only had to deal with it now.

"I don't know." I shook my head. "We hadn't talked for a few days."

"You haven't talked in a few days?" Dad asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why the hell not?"

"Carlisle, please." Mom whispered.

"No, Esme. He was smart enough to get Lauren pregnant." Ouch. "He should at least be smart enough to talk to the girl about it."

"She called me a few days ago to come pick her up from the abortion clinic!" I yelled, finally losing my temper. "She wasn't even going to tell me about the baby, but she chickened out of getting the abortion. She called me when her car would start and no one else would answer the phone."

"Well, now that she knows she doesn't want an abortion, what are your plans?" Dad asked.

"I want to keep it." I shrugged.

"The baby?" Mom asked. "Edward, you're pre-med. How are you going to keep this baby and go to school and study for the MCAT and apply for medical school?"

"I'll figure it out." I told her. "Mom...that baby is mine. Whether or not it's good timing, I...would you have given Emmett up if you were my age?"

"I don't know because I wasn't your age when I got pregnant."

"You weren't that much older than me." I argued.

"I was twenty three when I got pregnant and twenty four when he was born." She told me. "And your father and I were well off..."

"Yeah, and look where that got you!"

"Hey!" Carlisle barked. "Don't go there." He shook his head. Bringing up my biological dad was always a sore subject for everyone. Mom loved him, but he wasn't enough for her. He started sleeping around before Emmett was even born and Mom was lucky she didn't end up with an STD.

"I have the money..." I shrugged.

"You know that Carlisle and I want you to use that money later on in your life." She whispered. "Plus, you don't have access to your trust fund until you're twenty-five."

"But Dad's money would help us." I shrugged. "We could buy a bigger apartment and then hire a nanny for when we're at school."

"You want a nanny to raise your baby?" Mom asked. She definitely wasn't opposed to a nanny, but she'd gotten one for us when I was four and Emmett was six.

"I want to do what's right."

"Then we would seriously consider adoption, Edward." Carlisle said. "Look, that baby is our first grandchild...of course we want you to keep him or her. But, if it's easier for you and Lauren to give him to a family that can take care of him..."

"I can take care of him." I assured them. "We can do this. It won't be easy, but I think we can do this."

"I just don't see how this can work with all that you've got going on with school."

"Have a little faith in me, Mom." I smiled. "I'm twenty-one."

"You do everything you can to make sure that baby is loved and has everything that they need." Mom warned. "Do not abandon him for your schooling and do not make him feel like a burden."

"Mom, I won't." I nodded. "I swear."

* * *

 **Six Months Later**

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Lauren chanted as she held my hand during another contraction. "I hate you, Edward Cullen! I hate you!"

"Fucking stop yelling at me!" I shouted back, letting go of her hand when the contraction stopped. "You didn't want the epidural so don't fucking yell at me that you're in pain!"

"You got me in this mess!" She argued, turning away from me. "It's your fault we're in this! You couldn't have fucking pulled out?"

This mess.

That's what she'd been calling our son being conceived for the last six months. I had somehow managed convinced her to keep the baby and not give him up for adoption, but it wasn't easy. The only way that she agreed to it was the fact that I told her I'd be there to take care of the baby when he was born. I didn't enroll back in Duke for the first semester of my senior year and Mom and Dad were pissed. They kept telling me 'I told you so' and that she should also be paying some of the consequences.

I agreed, but my son was more important to me at this point than my college degree.

After I convinced her to keep the baby, I asked her to marry me. I didn't particularly want to marry her, but I wasn't going to let our son be raised in a broken home. It was hard growing up with only one parent before Mom met Carlisle. It may have only been for nine months that we were on our own, but those nine months were hell on Mom.

"Fuck you!" I spat after she'd referred to our sons birth as a mess.

"Edward," Dad said from the doorway. "A word?" He asked and I was glad he showed up when he did. I swear if that woman hadn't been carrying my child, I would have killed her already. I went out into the hallway with him and he just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest, his eyebrows raised.

"She called our a son a mess again." I rolled my eyes.

"No, she got the situation a mess." Dad corrected. Whatever. It was the same thing. "Which, it is. It isn't like this is an amazing situation, Edward."

"You hate her." I spat. "Why are you defending her?"

"Because, she's the one doing all the work, Edward." He reminded me. "She's pushing a tiny human out of her. She's hurting, she's exhausted. Let her be cranky for once."

"She's always cranky."

"I hope your son argues with you as much as you argue with me." Dad rolled his eyes, but I didn't miss the smile on his face. "Go back in there and help your wife. And, please stop shouting at each other. Tehre are other people on this floor and you're making them miserable."

"Other people can hear us?" I asked and If felt my cheeks warming up.

"Yes." He laughed. "I could hear you shouting from around the corner."

"I'll tone it down."

"Lauren too."

"I'll tell her." I nodded as I headed back into the room.

Lauren and I didn't stop fighting while she was in labor, but we did manage to keep it down so we didn't disrupt everyone else on the delivery floor. Every time the doctor checked to see where she was at, she yelled at me when she had dilated more. Finally, after thirteen hours, they told her that she was ready to push. I had asked my Mom to be in there with us, must to Lauren's dismay.

But I couldn't count on myself to not kill her once the baby was born.

"Okay, Lauren, next contraction and you're going to push for me." The doctor instructed. "Okay, three, two one. Push, Lauren!"

"I hate you!" She chanted through her screaming as she pushed. "Oh, God!" She screeched nd finally, I heard the most beautiful noise of my entire life. I heard my son's first cry and I felt tears running down my cheek. I let got of Lauren's hand immediately and went over to my son and looked at him up close. He was kind of gross right now and I didn't want to know what he was covered in.

But, he was perfect.

"Lauren, he's perfect." I cried as I cut the umbilical cord. When I looked up at her, she was looking the other way and her eyes were shut tight.

"You wanna hold him, Mom?" The doctor asked as she wrapped him up in a blanket before they cleaned him off.

"Edward can hold him first."

"Are you sure?" I asked as the doctor placed my arms. I looked down at my beautiful son who squished his face up and yawned.

"He looks just like you did when you were born, Edward." Mom cried as she came up behind me

"He's perfect."

"Do we have a name?" The doctor asked.

"No, not yet." I shook my head.

"Well, we're going to take him and clean him up a little." The nurse whispered and took him from my arm. He screamed in protest, but I noticed he had discovered his little hand and shoved it in his mouth. Lauren was cleaned up and was rolled down to delivery where the rest of my family was waiting.

"Where is he?" My younger sister, Alice asked when Lauren was settled. Alice was Carlisle's daughter from his first wife. It wasn't that Alice's Mom was horrible like my biological dad was, but they just weren't ready together. Both of my parents said if they had met each other before their first spouses, they would have married each other in a heartbeat. Alice was a year younger than me and when Carlisle adopted Emmett and I, Mom adopted Alice. The three of us took their last name and no one ever questioned why Alice didn't look anything like Carlisle.

"They're cleaning him up." I yawned. "They'll bring him soon."

"What's his name?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"We don't know yet." Lauren snapped. "Stop asking."

"Wow," Emmett rolled his eyes. He looked at me, and I knew what he was thinking. I didn't understand how he'd gotten so lucky with his fiancé, Rose and I had such shitty luck when it came to women. Even in high school he managed to get the perfect girls and I ended up with the crazy ones.

They brought him to Lauren's room in the plastic crib not long after. He was cleaned up and looked a lot less nasty than he had when he was first born. When I tried handing him to Lauren, she just turned her head so I gave him to my Mom instead. We spent a few minutes letting everyone hold him before the nurse came in with the bottle full of formula. Lauren refused to breastfeed, which I was pissed about because of the benefits, but it was her body. She was going to do what she wanted to do.

"We do need to name him." I reminded her as she fed him. It was the first time she'd held him all night and he wiggled and cried almost the entire time. I couldn't blame him though. Anger was radiating from her and babies were able to sense that kind of stuff.

"You pick then." She rolled her eyes. "I like the three names we narrowed it down to."

"You sure?"

"It's just a name, Edward." She snapped and it was then that I realized how alone I was in this whole thing. I was actually counting down the days until she went to the store for diapers and took off.

I looked down at my son as he drank his first bottle, and smiled. I knew exactly what to call him and it fit him perfectly.

"Mason." I whispered.

"Cool," She said as she looked at the wall in front of her rather than the baby in her arms.

Three days after he was born, it was time to take our son home. I strapped him into the carseat and carried him outside while the nurses wheeled her out. I drove like a grandpa all the way home while Lauren slept beside me. I looked in my rearview mirror every thirty seconds to look at my son and couldn't help but smile. It was impressive that I got us home before the sunset and I carried Mason into the apartment before Lauren even woke up.

Lauren came stomping upstairs, pissed off that I didn't wake he up once we got home. She ignored me and Mason for the rest of the day while she slept and I took care of the baby myself. As she slept and I cared for our son, I wondered what I was thinking when I asked her out on a date, let alone how I asked her to marry me.

I slept on the floor of the nursery that night. Mason had me up every two hours and Mom wasn't kidding when she felt like a zombie for the first few months after she had us. Each time he cried, I heated up his bottle, fed him, burped, changed him and rocked him back to sleep. Lauren didn't even bother coming in to see if I needed help. By the time it was seven in the morning, I'd only got a handful of hours of sleep and I was fucking exhausted.

"Lauren, can you take him for a little bit so I can sleep?" I called as I tried burping him again. "Lauren?" I called when she didn't answer. "Come on, I know you're having a hard time bonding with him but..." I trailed off when I noticed out empty bedroom. "Hey! Lauren!" I called, trying not to scare Mason.

I looked in the bedroom and even looked down the parking lot. Her car was gone and I was fucking pissed off.

"Lauren!" I called after I'd changed Mason's diaper and put him back in the crib. "Fucking, bitch." I mumbled when I saw papers setting on our kitchen table. I picked up the paper and my blood broiled. DIVORCE was stamped in bold on the top of the paper and she had filled everything out and signed already. The only blank on the page was my signature and if I didn't have a sleeping infant in the other room, I would have screamed.

"Bitch!" I called, grabbing the other paper she'd left on the table.

 _Dear Edward,_

 _I'm sorry. I just couldn't do it. I know you wanted to keep the baby, and I wasn't going to take him away from you. I'll send you papers, granting you full custody. Please don't come and try to find me._

 _Lauren_

"Fucking, bitch." I cursed again and dialed my Dad's number.

"Edward?" He asked. Him and Mom were leaving North Carolina later today. Although, now they might have been changing their plans. "What's wrong, son? Is Mason okay?"

"He's fine." I assured him. "Lauren...Dad, she took off."

"What do you mean she took off?" He barked. "Where'd she go?"

"I have no clue." I shrugged. "She told me not to look for her and she was going to send papers over to give me full custody of Mason."

"She's...gone gone?" He asked.

"She's beyond gone, Carlisle." I rolled my eyes. "She signed divorce papers and left them for me to sign."

"Your Mom and I will be right over." He sighed and hung up the phone. I took the time while Mason was asleep and took a quick shower and managed to scarf down a granola bar before he woke up and before my parents got there. I looked down at my son as I fed him and wondered how anyone could be so cruel to him. She didn't even hold him before taking off. I knew she was hesitant about having him, but I still thought that once she met him she'd warm up to the idea.

"Where's my grandson?" Mom demanded before she'd even said hello to them when I opened the door.

"I just put him down." I whispered.

"Where's the papers?" Dad asked as Mom sat down on the couch.

"Kitchen table." I sighed as I laid down next to Mom. She affectionately rubbed my back as Carlisle looked over the papers.

"These look...legit." He sighed, shaking his head as he took his reading glasses off. "I'm sorry, Edward."

"I don't fucking care if she wants a divorce." I scoffed. "I don't even know why I married her in the first place."

"Because you wanted Mason to grow up in a good family."

"Mom, we were never a good family." I reminded her. "Fuck!" I cursed, making Mom flinch. "I should have never asked her out."

"But, you wouldn't have Mason if you would have left her alone."

"I love Mason so much already, but I'm not ready for this." I finally admitted. "I'm...I can't do this."

"You can still...adoption is still an option." Carlisle whispered.

"No, it's not." I argued. "The second I saw him, I fell in love. I can't even...adoption is not an option."

"What are you going to do then?" Mom asked.

"I'm gonna have to move back home." I shrugged.

"No, Edward, if you come home you'll never finish school." Carlisle reminded me.

"If I stay I'm never going to finish school." I argued. "I can't do this on my own."

"What were you planning on doing with Lauren?" Mom asked. "I mean, she didn't exactly look like she was going to do anything when he was born."

"She would have been an extra set of hands." I shrugged because I had no idea what Lauren was going to do if she had stayed. Would she have eventually warmed up? Would she just sit an watch? I didn't know and I didn't think I'd ever know.

"You can come work with me." Carlisle sighed. Carlisle had started one of the best construction companies in the country when he was just twenty seven. It started out as a local business to help redo old bathrooms, but it quickly grew and we were...living comfortably to say the least. Cullen's Constructions main office were in Jacksonville, but there were nine different locations throughout the country.

"Carlisle, he needs to finish school." Mom scolded.

"What he needs, Esme, is to be able to provide for that baby." He told her. "If he doesn't have a job, then he can't do that. And he can't pay for a babysitter if he doesn't have any money."

"He can get a job here and make money."

"Dad will pay me better than any crap job around here." I shrugged. "Regardless, Mason and I need to come home."

"So your dreams of being a doctor? Mom shook her head.

"Plans change, Mom." I whispered. It was true. I'd been dreaming of becoming a doctor since I was six and had my first ER visit. I thought it was pretty cool that they were able to stitch up my head, only leaving a small scar and decided then that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

"They shouldn't have to."

"No, you're right." I nodded. "But...I need to do what's best for my son." I reminded her. "And, I can always come back to school and finish and go to med school when Mason's a little older."

"This isn't going to be easy, Edward." Dad spoke up.

"It was never going to be easy." I sighed, leaning back and resting my head on the back of the couch.


	3. Lost Before Your Time

**Chapter Three: Lost Before Your Time**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"Mike!" I groaned from the living room. "We're going to be late!"

"We're fine." He huffed as he opened the door. I laughed when I realized he was still trying to tie his neck tie. He'd been trying for ten minutes already. "Help." He wined.

"Come here, you doof." I rolled my eyes, standing up and making my way over to him. I managed to tie his tie the first try and he just stuck his tongue out at me. I grabbed my clutch and we headed out to the car. We made our way over to the hotel and waited outside for my Dad to arrive.

"Hi, Daddy." I smiled when he finally walked inside. He leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek, and nodded at Mike. I was just happy he'd actually acknowledged him this time because there were times when he ignored him completely.

"Let's go sit." Dad nodded as Mike pressed his hand to the small of my back. He led me into the big room where the wedding was going to be held and I had to admit, this was way too much for me. I knew Jake just wanted to make Carmen happy, and this was she wanted. I prayed Mike wouldn't mind a small, outdoor wedding because there was no way in hell I was going through all of this.

Thankfully for Jake, Carmen's parents were loaded and he didn't have to spend a dime except for his rental tux.

"We're not doing this." Mike whispered as we sat down. "This is way too much."

"Agreed." I nodded as I looked up at the high ceilings and wondered how much the chandelier cost. After five minutes of waiting, the music started and Jake came out with his groomsmen to stand at the alter. For as over the top as this wedding was, they'd kept their wedding party small and only had four people each.

Once Carmen's sisters and college best friend made their way down the aisle, everyone stood and waited for the beautiful bride. I had to admit, Jake had done pretty good for himself...especially considering that when we were in high school he was kind of a slut. But, the second he met Carmen he was head over heals and didn't even look at another girl and I was proud of him for that.

"Who gives this woman in marriage?" The minister asked after we'd all been seated.

"Her Mama and I do." Carmen's Dad said and thence sat down with her family.

"Friends, family, loved ones." The minister spoke. "Welcome."

The ceremony was so beautiful and when they started saying their vows, I was a mess. Jake had always been like a brother to me and watching him up there, marrying the woman he loved most in this world, made me way too emotional. Mike held my hand and I just hoped that I would be like Carmen when I read my vows; squeaky and nervous.

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

"Finally!" Jake laughed as he pressed his lips to Carmen's.

After the wedding party had walked back up the aisle, we made our way to the lobby for cocktail hour while they transformed the ballroom into a reception hall. The tension between Mike and my Dad was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. I just prayed that they would learn to like each other even just a little bit before the wedding. I wanted my Dad to like my husband and want to come over to dinner with us. Now, when I asked him, he always asked if Mike was going to be there. I always asked him when I knew Mike was going to be out, but it still sucked that I had to even do that.

Just like the ceremony, the reception was also way too over the top. It was gorgeous, don't get me wrong, but too much. But, as I watched Jake dance with Carmen for the first time, I realized they could have gotten married anywhere and they would have been happy. And that's what mattered. They were happy and they got to be together forever.

"May I have this dance, my lady?" Mike asked as one of my favorite songs came on.

"You sure may." I giggled as I took his hand. He led me to the middle of the dance floor and spun me around before pulling me close and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Always and forever." Mike sung into my ear as we swayed to the music. "Only with you. It's just like a dream to me."

"Remember that night you came over and I was blasting this song because my roommate wasn't there so I had control of the iHome?"

"Vividly." He laughed, leaning in and pressing his lips to mine. "I didn't understand why this is the song you chose, but it's cute."

"It's a classic." I giggled. "And we blasted other stuff once this was over."

"That's true." He nodded. "We did end up getting a noise complaint that night."

"I don't think it was because of the music." I whispered seductively in his ears and I could feel him harden beneath his thin dress slacks. "Mike, Dad is right there."

"Then don't bring up memories like that." He said darkly in my ear as he pressed himself against me. The song changed at this moment and I couldn't help but laugh. "And this is the song you were blasting when we met."

"It is the song I was listening to when you walked by my room." I remembered. "I had completely forgotten that...how'd you remember that?"

"I remember a lot of stuff about us." He smiled and it was moments like this that reminded me why I was in love with him. Because, even with all his flaws, he loved me a remembered little things like what I was listening to when we met.

 _"And you play it coy but it's kinda cute. When you smile at me you know exactly what you do." I sang as I unpacked boxes and put things away. This room was definitely nicer than my freshman dorm, but it was still way too cramped. Especially since my roommate looked like a hoarder with all of the crap she'd brought._

 _"Ummm, excuse me?" Someone asked as they knocked on the open door._

 _"Yeah?" I asked, turning around. I smiled when I saw the cute, blonde boy standing in my door way and his eyes seemed to widen when he saw me. "What's up?"_

 _"Sorry, but I'm one of the RA's on this floor and...you got a noise complaint." He stuttered._

 _"Oh, I'll turn it down." I nodded. "I'm Bella."_

 _"Mike." He blushed. "Wow, you got one of the nicest rooms in the building." He said in awe as he stepped into my room. "I got lucky last year when I got this room."_

 _"So, that's why it smells like boy." I laughed as I put my books on a shelf._

 _"What book are you reading?" He asked as he looked at my impressive collection. Books were something Mom and I shared and when she died, I got her massive book collection._

 _"Well, right now I'm trying to get through the Sherlock collection, but it's not easy." I laughed. "Do you read?"_

 _"Not as much as I'd like to." He smiled. "But, Hitchhikers Guide is amazing." He said as he continued to look at my collection. "But, you already know that since you have it."_

 _"I haven't read it yet." I explained. "Maybe I'll out that as my next book to read."_

 _"I highly recommend it."_

"That book definitely wasn't my cup of tea." I laughed as we sat back down after getting our drinks.

"Oh come on, that book is amazing."

"It was well written, but I just couldn't get into it." I shrugged. "Plus, we've already agreed to disagree about it. So this argument is completely pointless."

"Fine," He rolled his eyes as he leaned in pressed his lips against mine.

"Look at him." I nudged his side as I looked at Jake and Carmen holding each other on the middle of the dance floor.

"I'll admit, they are a pretty cute couple." He agreed.

"Are you going to stop being intimidated by Jake now that he's married?"

"I'm sorry, babe, but he knows you better than I do." He shrugged.

"He's the only person who's known me for almost as long as my Dad." I reminded him. "Of course he knows you better than you do. He knows me better than my Dad knows me."

"How?"

"My Dad doesn't know anything about my sex life." I told him smugly.

"Well, when you put it like that." Mike smiled, leaning in and kissing my cheek.

"Bella?" I heard a familiar voice ask from behind me. I turned around and was face to face with someone I hadn't seen since my freshman year of college.

"Jasper?" I laughed as I stood up and gave him a tight hug. Jasper and I were in a handful of general education classes our freshman and worked on a bunch of group projects together. We'd been close freshman year, but when we both got more into our majors, we lost touch. "What are you doing here?"

"My girlfriend was roommates with Carmen her freshman year of college and they stayed pretty close." He said. "What are you doing?"

"Jake is one of my best friends." I explained. "We grew up together. And, what girlfriend?" I laughed. Jasper was always pretty shy with girls, and it took a month for him to even say hi to me for the first time.

"We met senior year at Starbucks." He smiled. "She was a terrible barista but really cute and I somehow mustered up the courage to ask her out on a date."

"Ugh, what a lucky girl." I laughed. I had always thought Jasper was pretty cute and he was a great guy, but I never thought go him like that. Since day one, he was like Jake...an amazing friend but dating him probably would have been like dating my brother. "Oh, Jasper, This is Mike. My fiancé."

"What a lucky guy." Jasper winked as he shook Mike's hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too. How do you know each other?" Mike asked as he snaked his arm around my waist. I explained to him that we were good friends freshman year but fell out of touch. Thankfully, Mike didn't seem at all intimidated by Jasper. The thing that got on my nerves the most was Mike's jealousy. I understood that he loved me and wanted me to himself, but I was trustworthy. Even if he couldn't trust the guys, he could trust me.

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but Alice looks like she's about to fall asleep at the table." He laughed, pointing to a table across the room. I couldn't really see her very well, but she had her head on the table and looked like a child who was staying up way past her bedtime.

"I didn't know you were from Jacksonville." I piped up. "Here, give me your phone." I demanded. He fished it out of his pocket and handed it to me. I put my number in his phone and handed it back to him. "Maybe we can go on a double date."

"Alice would love that." He smiled. "She's a social butterfly."

"Perfect." I laughed as I felt my own eyes getting heavy. Once Jasper had walked away, Jake came up from behind me and asked for a dance. Jake and I swayed to the music and I buried my head in his shoulder as he told me how much he loved me. Jake was my best friend in the world and it kind of sucked that I wasn't his number one girl anymore.

"I'm really happy for you." I sniffled once I'd composed myself.

"Then why are you crying like an idiot?" He laughed.

"Everyone cries at weddings." I shrugged. "Don't you dare hurt Carmen, or I'll kill you."

"You're probably the fifteenth person to tell me that tonight." He rolled his eyes. "What if she hurts me?"

"Oh, I'll kill her before you can blink." I smirked. We finished our dance and then Mike and I headed out. It had been a long day and Dad was opening the store tomorrow like always. He'd told me to take the morning off, but all of our employes had been invited to the wedding. Everyone was going to be hung over and I hadn't drank that much at the reception, so I told him I'd work instead of him having really cranky clerks.

* * *

"Morning, baby." I yawned as Mike padded into our kitchen. He grunted a hello as he poured a cup of coffee and slumped down in a chair next to me. Mike was never a morning person and it usually took him two cups of coffee to wake himself up. Until then, he was completely useless.

I finished my coffee and went back into our bedroom to get changed for the day. I was really glad that morning that what I had to wear was just a pair of jeans and the t-shirt with our logo on it. If I actually had to look nice, it wouldn't have ended well at all. Once I was finished getting dressed, I went back into the kitchen and Mike had managed to wake himself up finally.

"How you feeling?" I asked. Mike had drank a lot more than I did and he had always been kind of a lightweight. He always got really bad hangovers, no matter how little he drank.

"I've been better." He nodded. "I'm just glad your Dad isn't making me come in."

"I told him not to." I smiled, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "I'll be home after lunch." Dad only kept the store open until two on Sundays to give his employees a break. I drove myself over to the store where Dad was waiting for me with another cup of coffee.

"There's a reason you're the best Dad ever." I laughed as I took another sip. I was able to wake up a lot easier than Mike, but coffee was always my saving grace. "How're you feeling?"

"I didn't drink last night, sweetie." He shrugged.

"I know, but the couch in your office isn't very comfortable." I shrugged as I pulled my apron on.

"I don't sleep on my couch here." He lied. I'd come back here after closing to grab something and he was passed off with some sport on the small TV.

"Okay, Dad." I rolled my eyes. I made my way to the front counter and turned it on. I counted the drawer and got to work on some more budgeting. Our store was growing in popularity again, and with the way we were earning money, Dad could definitely afford to hire another two employees. He kept saying that he didn't want to because he wanted his current employes to get enough hours, but we needed more people.

Eventually, after I was done with all the numbers, I'd convince him to hire two more people.

And a third one so I could go back to my normal job upstairs without all of the interruptions.

"Swan's Hardware, this is Bella speaking." I answered the phone right before close. "No, sir we are not open past two pm on Sundays. We open at nine on Mondays." I explained. "Yes. Have a good day, sir. Thanks." I hung up the phone and went over to lock the front door.

"Thanks for coming in today, Bells." Dad sighed after I came back to the counter. I typically didn't work Sundays, but it was easy to say yes when I needed to come.

"No, problem." I smiled. "Dad, can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"What is your deal with Mike?" I asked quietly. "I mean, I get that you two are very different but..."

"He's not good enough for you, baby." He shrugged, cutting me off. "Simple as that."

"But...I love him."

"Not like you should."

'What?"

"Bella, you should be head over heals for the man you're marrying." He whispered. "You should be running into his arms and talking nonstop about him..."

"Just because I don't love him the right way doesn't mean I don't love him."

"It isn't about loving him the right way, Bella." Dad said, looking at the ground. "It's about loving him in general."

"Dad, not everyone is going to have this...fireworks and passionate relationship like you and Mom." I said. "I love him and..." I hesitated. "I can't wait to marry him."

"I just want you to be happy."

"Daddy," I sighed. "I am happy."

"With him?"

"Yes," I answered after a pause. "I gotta go. You wanna come over for dinner?"

"Is Mike going to be there?"

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. I loved my Dad, but sometimes he could really be a big baby. "But, so will I. Jeeze, Dad. It isn't like I'm asking you to date Mike. I just want you to learn to be civil with him."

"Maybe in time, I will be." He rolled his eyes right back at me. I shook my head before leaving the store and heading home. Thankfully, Mike was pretty independent and had made me some chicken for a salad and I didn't have to cook when I got home. Once I was changed, the two of us spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch, just enjoying each other's company.

"Would you ever want to move?" Mike asked as we ate dinner that night.

"Like, to a house?" I asked.

"No to a new city." He shrugged. "Or a new state."

"Probably not." I shook my head. "I couldn't do that to Dad."

"You're a big girl, Bella. You don't need your Daddy to keep taking care of you."

"I don't need him to take care of me."

"And you definitely don't need to be taking care of him." He mumbled.

"I'm all he has, Mike." I made that clear for the thousandth time. "My grandparents are dead. Mom is dead. I'm all he has left."

"He's a big boy." He sighed. "I'm sure he'd be okay."

"If you think he'd be okay if we moved fucking states, you're out of your mind."

"Bells, come on. I'm just saying, he's a grown ass man. You don't need to baby him."

"What do you not understand that I'm all he has left?" I asked. "The fact that everyone else he loved died or the fact that I'm his only child?"

"He has his friends."

"We're not moving." I yelled. "End of discussion."

"What if I get a job out of state?"

"Are you looking for jobs out of state?"

"I've kind of exhausted all my options here, Bella."

"We're not moving." I told him again. "Don't bring it up again."

"Damnit, Bella." He slammed his hand on the table. "I'm in this relationship too, you know. And relationships are about giving and taking and compromise."

"I'll compromise and give you anything else." I told him. "But I will not leave my Dad here by himself."

"Fucking ridiculous." He stormed off into our bedroom.


	4. No I Won't Be Afraid

**Chapter Four: No I Won't Be Afraid**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

"Hi, Daddy!" Mason squeaked as I padded into the living room. He'd only been awake for a total of ten minutes, but he was already full of energy. I missed the days where I was a morning person, and being a Dad didn't make that happen.

"Morning, bud." I yawned as I sat down on the couch. "You hungry?"

"Yeah," He said with that tone of voice that just said 'duh, Dad'. I stood up, ruffled his hair, and made my way to the kitchen. I pulled out the carton of eggs and started scrambling them. I poured the eggs into a pan and grabbed the cheddar cheese out from the fridge before I pushed the eggs around as the cooked.

"I don't like eggs." Mason wined as he walked into the kitchen.

"Eggs are good for you, Mason." I told him. "We're having eggs for breakfast." I told him as I picked him up and put him in his booster seat.

"I want waffels." He complained.

"Maybe we'll have waffles tomorrow."

"You said that yesterday." He huffed as he crossed his little arms over his chest. Damn, my kid was smart for four years old.

"Please, just eat your eggs, buddy." I sighed. I was so not in the mood for an argument with a four year old this morning. "You excited to have some time with your Aunt Rose?" I asked since he was spending the day with Emmett's wife, Rosalie, since he didn't have preschool and Mom had a meeting she had to be at.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, shoving his eggs in his mouth.

Life had been anything but easy the last four years. At first when I moved back home, I moved back into my parents big house. It was nice having them around because they were always willing and ready to help when I needed it. But, they also made me take care of Mason myself which was definitely what I needed. We were able to find a good balance, and when Mason was six months, I went to work with Carlisle. I'd been building with him since I was a kid and he'd taught me everything I knew. But, I needed to be licensed before he let me touch anything so I did that before I actually went to work.

When Mason was two, I was able to move out of their house and we found a small, two bedroom apartment down the street from them. It was perfect for us, especially since it was still close to my parents. But, we were quickly growing out of it and I wanted Mason to have a yard and a driveway to play in. I had started looking for houses, but nothing was good enough for me and my boy. I really didn't want to have to dip into my biological fathers money until I really had to. I was leaning towards buying a fixer upper that my brother, Dad and I could work on together, but I just hadn't found the right one yet.

"Okay, well if you eat all of your eggs, I'll tell her you can have extended screen time." I said and his eyes lit up. I was so grateful it didn't really take much to make a four year old happy. I wasn't one to usually bribe my son to do what I wanted, but I was just so damn tired I didn't want to fight with him when he wouldn't finish his breakfast.

"All gone." He burped and then broke into a fit of laugher.

"Okay, go get dressed and grab your backpack." I smiled as he ran his way into his bedroom. I'd already laid out his outfit, so hopefully he wouldn't come out in something that was too small for him anymore.

I really needed to sort through his stuff.

"Can I bring blue?" He asked, holding up his favorite stuffed animal.

"Yeah, buddy." I nodded. Once we were both finally ready, we walked down to my car together. I strapped him into his carseat and we got on the road. We were only ten minutes late today. I quickly dropped him off at Rose's and made my way over to work. I was grateful that my Dad was the boss, because anyone else would have fired me for being late so many times. And, if Dad didn't know how difficult it was to get Mason ready in the morning, he probably would have fired me.

"Nice of you to show up." Paul, one of my good friends at work, joked as he slapped me on the back.

"The turd wouldn't eat his damn eggs." I sighed. "And now I need to find a waffle maker."

"Why?" He asked as I pulled on my t-shirt for work.

"Because I've been telling him we'll have waffles tomorrow for like a week and he's starting to catch on."

"Get him frozen waffles and heat them up in the toaster." Paul shrugged. That was Paul's solution to everything. Quick and easy.

"I'm not feeding my child frozen waffles." I rolled my eyes.

"You Mom and I fed you guys frozen waffles." Dad laughed as he came in the room. "Everything okay, Edward?"

"Yeah, Mason fought with me all morning about eating eggs." I said. "I finally had to bribe him with extra screen time with Rosalie."

"I don't know what that kids, problem is. I love your eggs."

"Thank you!" I sighed. "So do I!"

"Now, get your shit together and get on the road." He shoved me. "I don't wanna be late again or they're gonna fire us and find someone else."

"No one's better than you, Carlisle." Paul sucked up. If I hadn't been here, Paul definitely would have bee Carlisle's right hand man. He was still kind of bitter about it, but he dealt with it. He sucked up his jealousy most of the time and it never interfered with our work.

"Stop trying to kiss my ass, Paul." Dad rolled his eyes and I couldn't help but snicker.

Our team headed out for the day a few minutes after that. We were working on building this brand new, beach front mansion and it was the biggest project we'd ever had. Especially since we were building it completely from scratch. Dad even had to hire an architect to see what was going to work. Usually, he was able to design it himself, but this place was fucking massive. I had a feeling their kids were going to get lost inside and they'd need to tie a bell to their necks to keep track of them.

Just as we were sitting down to eat, my phone buzzed from my pocket. When I looked at the caller ID, I tried not to panic. Rosalie never called when she was with Mason because he was more well behaved for her than anyone else in our family. I didn't get it since she was probably the coldest one in our family, but they had a weird bond. I'd never understood, but if I got a good babysitter that he didn't ever act up for, I was happy.

"Rose?" I asked when I answered the phone, trying really hard not to freak out.

"Mason fell off the jungle gym while we were at the park." She breathed into the phone.

"what?" I shot up faster than lightning, scaring my coworkers.

"I was grabbing his lunch out of my purse and he fell." She defended. I knew it wasn't her fault because I knew she was careful, but it would freak any parent out to know their kid was hurt. "I was only looking away for like a minute."

"Where are you?" I asked, gathering my lunch back into my bag.

"Children's." She sighed.

"Is he okay, Rose?" I asked when I realized I hadn't even asked the most basic question.

"He's got a pretty good cut on his head, but other than that he looks okay." She explained. "He didm' fall from very high."

"Okay, I'm on my way." I nodded and hung up the phone. "You guys see where Carlisle went?"

"Thatway." Jared said with a mouthful of food. I saw where he was pointing and Dad was talking to one of the five plumbers working with us on the project. I raced over there and tried not to be all panicy...but I was failing miserably.

"Hi, son." Dad said. "One second."

"Mason. I gotta go." I huffed.

"Whoa, hold on. Excuse me. He nodded at the plumber and turned towards me.

"Mason fell of the jungle gym at the park and Rose took him to the hospital." I explained. "I gotta go."

"I'll drive you."

"You have a job to do."

"That's my grandson." He rolled his eyes at me as we made our way to his truck. He always drove separately in case he needed to be someone else. "Marcus is here, he'll supervise." He reminded me. I was super thankful for my Dad's partner, even if he was kind of an ass. We got int the car and sped over to the hospital. When we got there, Mason was behind one of the curtains, waiting for the doctor.

"Hey, bud." I breathed when I saw him. Other than the huge piece of gauze on his head, he looked completely fine. He was playing with a pair of gloves that were too big for him and smiled when he saw me.

"Hi, Daddy!" He giggled. "I got a owie."

"I see that." I smiled, sighing with relief when I realized he was talking and acting normally.

"I'm really sorry, Edward." Rose cried and it was then that I realized she was crying.

"He's fine, Rosalie." I smiled, patting her on the shoulder. "Shit happens."

"You trusted me with your kid..."

"Daddy, I watched Diego today!" He laughed as he crawled into my lap. "It was so funny."

"Yeah? What happened to Diego this time?" I asked, cuddling him closer to me. Even though he was fine, I just needed to be close to him for a second. He told me all about what happened on his new favorite TV show and by the time he was finished, the doctor opened the curtain.

"Hi, Mason." He smiled. "My name is Dr. Aro.

"Hi," He smiled sheepishly.

"Looks like you got a nice cut on your head."

"I felled down." He explained."I got a owie."

"You sure do have an owie." Dr. Aro laughed. "I'm going to fix that for you now. Is that okay?"

"Uh-huh." He nodded. Dr. Aro put his own gloves and turned the nurse who was handing him a huge fucking needle.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing?" I obviously know what a sutcher kit looked like from college. But I was a little shocked at how big it was to be using it on a kid.

"We have to numb his forehead so we can stitch it up." He explained softly. "Mason, this is gonna hurt, buddy."

"I don't like shots." He curled into me. "Daddy, I don't wanna shot."

"It'll be really quick, Mason." I assured him. Another nurse then came in and helped me hold him down while Dr. Aro placed the needled near the wound. He screamed bloody murder, and I couldn't blame him. Shots sucked in general, but his forehead was probably really sensitive.

"Stop!" He cried, tears streaming down his face. "OWWWWW!"

"All done!" Dr. Aro said and not a moment too soon. Mason was wiggling enough and even with my good grip, he almost got away. "Now, we're going to sew the cut up."

"No! It'll hurt!" He cried and I tightened my grip on him.

"It won't hurt." The doctor nodded. "The shot I just gave you made it possible for me to do this without it hurting."

"You promise?" Mason stuck his little pinky out.

"I pinky promise." He said. "It won't hurt, but you feel just a wee bit of pressure where I'm sewing you up."

"Okay," Mason was distracted again by the gloves he was wearing. Since the cut wasn't huge, it only took about five stitches and we were done quickly. He taped a piece of gauze of the stitches and gave me the care instructions. I was kind of annoyed that he wouldn't be able to get his bath tonight since we'd blown it off last night, but he was okay and that's all the mattered. When we checked out, the nurse gave him a lollipop and sucked on it excitedly. I picked him up and carried him over to where Rosalie and Dad were sitting.

"He's okay?" Rosalie asked, panic in her voice.

"He has a sucker now." I laughed, looking down at him. "He's totally fine."

"I'm really..."

"If you apologize I'm going to tell Emmett about the time I walk in on you..."

"Okay, stop!" She held her hands up in defeat. "I'm sorry, Mason?"

"Why?" He continued to suck on his lollipop.

"I should have been watching you."

"I not mad." He giggled as I turned towards my dad.

"Shoot," I closed my eyes. "You don't have a car seat in your truck, do you?"

"Not my work truck." He shook his head. "Rosalie, did you drive here?"

"Oh yeah, I can drive you guys to get your car." She agreed.

"I'm sleepy." Mason yawned as he laid his head down on my shoulder.

"We're going to get you some lunch and then you can take a nap." I told him as we made our way out to the car. I got him in his car seat, and shut the door, turning towards Carlisle.

"You sure I don't need to come back?" I asked. "Rose can take him for the rest of the day."

"I'm good." He assured. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Will do, Dad. Thanks." I nodded as I got in the passenger side of Rosalie's car. She dropped us off at the office and I transferred Mason into my car. When we got home, Mason was practically asleep so I just let him sleep and decided we'd have an early dinner that night. I took the extra time I had to clean up around the house. I wasn't a neat freak or anything, but Mom ran a tight ship and we were always expected to keep our rooms clean as well as clean up any messes we made in the house. Having a four year old, our house was pretty messy most of the time and I usually didn't care. But, since we had the extra time, I took full advantage of it.

Just as Mason was padding into the living room after a two hour nap, my phone buzzed.

 _Jasper: You and Mason wanna come over for dinner? Rose told us what happened and Alice didn't think you'd wanna cook._

 _Me: That would be great. When?_

 _Jasper: Five?_

 _Me: We'll be there._

"I'm hungry." Mason complained. It was still only three so I heated him up a small portion of the mac n' cheese from last night and gave it to him. He scarfed it down and then wined for more, but I told him I didn't want him spoiling his dinner. He was in a phase I felt he should have already gone through when he was two, where he wined about anything he didn't get. He'd only been doing it for a few weeks, but it was getting old already.

"We're going over Aunt Alice's for dinner tonight." I told him as I helped him down from his booster.

"Really?" His face lit up like a Christmas tree. If there was anyone in this world who doted and spoiled more than me and my Mom, it was my little sister. It was impossible for me to say no to him when she was around because she'd always give me a look. He was also getting smart enough to just ask Alice for something if she was around because she always said yes. I called her out on it a bunch, but she said that when she had a kid, then I could spoil her kid.

At quarter to five, I buckled Mason into his seat and we headed over to my sisters house. She told everyone that she wanted to use her money to buy a house with Jasper and no one questioned her with the way she wanted to use her money. I couldn't blame them though, she wasn't the one who had a kid when she was twenty-one. They were more trusting of her decisions. Plus, her boyfriend was smart and wouldn't let her go overboard when they purchased the house.

"Aunt Alice!" Mason cried as he ran over to her when I let him down.

"Hey, little man!" She squealed as he ran into her arms. "I heard you got an owie today?"

"Uh-huh!" He laughed. "Right here! I gots stitches to fix it."

"Stitches?" She gasped as we made our way into the house. Jasper was already out on the deck, grilling something that smelled amazing, and I went out to join him after grabbing a beer.

"It smells amazing." I told him as I handed him a beer.

"He likes steak, right?" He asked as he flipped over one of the steaks.

"He did last week." I rolled my eyes. Mason wasn't picky, he liked everything he ate but he was just going through phrases like candy. Currently, he really loved arguing with me and pretending he didn't like foods I knew he loved. I just prayed he would like steak tonight because today had been a long day.

I didn't need to be arguing with a four year old tonight.

"How was the wedding on Saturday?" I asked, taking a sip of my beer.

"Way over the top." He rolled his eyes. "I mean, it was beautiful and Carmen looked really happy, but it was fucking huge, man."

"I hope you're ready for that when you ask Alice to marry you." I laughed.

"You don't think...she knows I don't want something too extravagant."

"Then you should find another girlfriend." I laughed. "Alice is going to want it all."

"I know..." He nodded. "It's going to be way too over the top, isn't it?"

"And then some." I clapped him on the back as he put the steaks on a plate. We made our way back inside and Alice had Mason all set for dinner. Even though she pissed me off sometimes when it came to Mason, she really was good with him. I mean, my entire family was great with him, but I could tell she was going to be an amazing Mom. She was a natural.

"What's that?" Mason asked as Alice handed him his sippy cup.

"Steak, dude." Jasper laughed as he put a steak on my plate. I cut it up and put it onto Mason's plate as Alice put some potatoes and broccoli on his plate.

"Yuck." He scrunched his face. "I don't like the bro...little green trees."

"Mason, I want you to eat your...little trees."

"I don't like them!" He wined.

"Mason, please."

"If you eat your broccoli, you get desert." Alice overstepped me as usual. He'd already eaten way too much today since I knew Rose had to have given him stuff before he fell.

"Alice," I glared.

"Do you want him to eat his veggies or not?" She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but not because I bribed him." I whispered. "I want him to do it because I told him too."

"You're so difficult sometimes."

"No, I'm his Dad." I reminded her. "I'm just doing my job."


	5. No Escaping

**Chapter Five: No Escaping**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

The week following mine and Mike's mega fight was not fun at all. The two of us barely looked at each other and we were both too stubborn to admit we needed to talk. I didn't want to talk to him. He was being an ass and he knew when he asked me to marry him that I wasn't leaving Jacksonville. I told him I'd move to a different part of the city if he needed or to a town close by. But there was no way I was moving to a new state and completely abandoning my Dad.

That wasn't going to happen. Case closed.

So, we ignored each other. It sucked because living in silence was not how I pictured us living together, but until he figured out that I wasn't going to cave, we were going to be living uncomfortably. Dad knew we were fighting and he didn't pretend like he didn't. Whenever I'd ignore Mike while he was stocking the shelves, Dad would snicker to himself. It took all my strength to not yell at him to knock it off, but I didn't need to be fighting with him too.

It also didn't help that the one week Jake was gone was the week Mike and I decided to fight. Jake was my closet friend and the only one who understood the need to be close to my Dad. I tried to work things out on my own, but this was one of those times I desperately needed Jake. I was just glad he was coming home tomorrow and would be back to work on Monday.

"Swan's Hardware, this is Bella speaking." I answered the phone on day six of us fighting. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, I was just wondering if you sold tiling tools?" The man asked.

"Yes, we carry a wide variety of different tools as well as different brands." I answered, and I wondered if this guy was cute. He certainly sounded cute...I just hoped he wasn't old. Then I snapped myself out of it because even though we were fighting, I was engaged.

"And you're open until what time today?" He asked. I looked at the clock and it was already four.

"We close at five on Saturdays." I explained. "But, we're open on Sundays as well if you can't make it."

"I'll be there. Thanks." He said.

"Well, I'll see you in a few." I blushed as I hung up the phone. That was so not professional and I really shouldn't be blushing because of a guy...a customer...on the phone.

"Bells?" Dad asked, making me jump. "You okay? You look a little flushed."

"I'm good." I lied, swatting him away. If there was even a chance to get me away from Mike and in a relationship with a new guy, Dad would jump at the chance. Not that there was a way to get me away from Mike...I was just saying.

Shit. I was babbling in my head to myself.

I eagerly watched the clock, waiting for this potentially beautiful man to walk through the door. When I heard the bell ding, I shot up and made sure there were no bumps in my ponytail. What the hell was I doing? I heard him walking around and I took a deep breath, trying to get myself to calm the fuck down, before going over and seeing if he needed any help. When I turned the corner, I had to take a second because if this was the guy from over the phone, he was fucking hot. Like hotter than anyone I'd ever met before.

"Hi," I smiled. "Can I help you with something?"

"Are you Bella?" He asked with a crooked smile.

"I am." I nodded.

"I'm the tile guy from over the phone." He laughed. "Could you help me find the tools I need?"

"Yeah, they're this way." I turned and tried not to squeal. He was fucking hot, just like I'd predicted from his voice. "What kind of tools do you need?" I asked as we stopped at the aisle dedicated to tiling.

"I need spacers and leveling pliers." He said, completely distracted as he looked at the different spacers we carried.

"Can I make a suggestion?" I asked.

"You know about tiling?"

"I've been working at this store since I was five." I laughed. "I know all about everything in here...and a little too well."

"Then by all means, suggest away." He winked. He fucking winked at me and my knees buckled.

I really had a to get a grip.

"The Vitrex brand is popular." I told him. "And then these are the pliers my Dad always says are good."

"You're Dad a contracter?" He asked, picking out the spacers he need and then picking up the QEP pliers.

"He owns the store."

"That's why you've been working here since you were five." He hit his forehead with the palm of his head. "Duh. That makes more sense than what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?" I giggled as he turned to face me.

"That you were just an overachiever who wanted a job as soon as she could get one."

"I am an overachiever, but I don't think any old hardware store would have hired me." I smiled.

I really needed to get a grip.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"While I'm here, I might as well get the grout if you have good deals."

"We have the best deals in Jacksonville." I told him as I lead him further down the aisle. "Are you redoing your bathroom or something?"

"Te entire house." He explained, crouching down to get a look at the grout on the bottom shelf. "I just bought a fixer upper."

"Really? Are you a contractor?"

"I am." He smiled. "I work for my Dad's construction company. Him and my brother are going to help me fix the house."

"What company?" I asked.

"Cullen's Construction."

"Your Dad is Carlisle Cullen?" I asked. My Dad had always admired the Cullen's work whenever he saw them working on houses and other buildings around town.

"Well, my adoptive father is Carlisle Cullen." He laughed, picking out a tub of grout. "I think I have everything."

"Come on, I'll ring you up." I blushed as I lead him to the back of the store where our cash register was. I rung all his things out and told him his total. I really wanted him to keep shopping here so I could talk to him, but he was a customer and not my fiancé. Dad would kill me for flirting with customers and Mike would just be pissed that I was flirting with someone else.

"Have a nice day." I smiled as I handed him the brown paper bag.

"This house needs a lot of help." He said as he took the bag. "I'll probably be back once I start buying for it."

"You're not getting this stuff for the house?"

"Nope. I need to retile the bathroom in our apartment before we can sell it." He explained.

"Well, enjoy your tile grout."

"Oh, I will." And he winked again. I watched him as he left the store. Well, I stared at his ass as he walked out of the store. I seriously needed a cold shower or something. I was not one to gawk at strangers butts as they walked away, especially not customers butts.

"Earth to Bella." Dad laughed as he waved his hand in front of my face.

"What?" I asked, turned to face him. Dad was like a ninja or something. I hardly ever heard him coming downstairs.

"We're closing. It's five."

"It's already five?" I wined. I didn't want to go home to World War III right now. Not after I'd had such a pleasant conversation with a fuck hot guy.

"Yeah, lock up." He rolled his eyes. I locked up and counted the drawer before heading home. When I got home, though, Mike wasn't there and I sighed in relief. I took this rare opportunity to grab a book, fill the tub, and take a relaxing bath. Since Mike worked at the store and we lived together, we hardly got any time away from each other. I loved having him (when we weren't fighting) and I loved getting to spend so much time with him, but there were times when you guys wanted to relax.

When the water was starting to cool, I got our and pulled on a pair of cotton PJ shorts and a tank top. It was only six-thirty, but I'd had such a long and terrible week, I just wanted to eat dinner and go to bed. It was strange that Mike wasn't home yet for dinner since he loved my cooking so much, but I wasn't complaining. I heated up leftovers, poured myself glass of wine, and turned on 27 Dresses. When I was finished eating, I brushed my teeth and got into bed with the book I'd been reading in the tub.

 _"Fuck," I moaned as he ran his hands up my tank top. My nipples hardened immediately at his touch and since I wasn't wearing a bra, you could see them through my shirt. "Yes, please!"_

 _"You like this?" He asked huskily as his hand cupped my breast and kneaded it. I threw my head back and he leaned in and kissed my neck. I could feel myself getting super wet, and I was already super worked up. I was going to come in fucking seconds when he finally touched me._

 _"Yes!" I cried as he tweaked my nipple in his fingers. He reached down and pulled my tank top over my head, leaving me in just my flimsy pair of shorts._

 _"So fucking hot." He mumbled, licking his lips and then bringing them to my nipple. He bit and sucked and I started seeing spots he was so fucking good at this._

 _"Fuck me!" I pleaded._

 _"Anything you want." His eyes were dark and full of lust as he pushed me down onto the bed. He reached down and shoved my shorts and panties down my legs and plunged his fingers inside me. "Do you like that, Bella?"_

 _"Yes!" I shouted as he flicked my clit with his thumb. "Fuck, Edward! Don't stop!"_

I shot up and started panting loudly. My book fell to the ground and the light that was one when I fell asleep was now turned off. I turned to Mike's side of the bed and he was breathing heavy, still fast asleep. He turned over and faced me, but he was still sleeping soundly.

What the fuck was that dream all about?

I mean, sure Mike and I had been fighting this week, but I wasn't one to have sex dreams about another man. Hell, I wasn't one to have sex dreams at all. I'd never even had a dream like that about Mike and now I was having them about complete strangers? I mean, complete...sexy...strangers, but still strangers. I got out of bed and went into our bathroom, and splashed some cold water on my face. But, now I had a huge fucking problem. I was all worked up and even squeezing my legs together weren't helping.

This was going to be a long night.

"You okay?" Mike grunted as I slipped back into bed.

"Yeah, go back to sleep." I leaned in, kissing the top of his head before he rolled back over. I brought the covers up to cover my face, trying to forget about that...absolutely amazing...dream.

The next morning, I got out of bed and decided to drive to the airport to pick Jake and Carmen up from the airport because I couldn't face Mike. Not yet. Jake wasn't expecting me to show up, but he was definitely happy when he saw me at baggage claim.

"You really couldn't wait until later night?" He asked as he scooped me up in his arms. Unlike Mike, Carmen had never been weary of mine and Jake's relationship. She told me it was good that Jake had as good of friend like me and that he knew being with me would be like being with his sister. She trusted us completely and I respected her a lot for that.

"Ummm, I really needed to talk to you." I shrugged as he grabbed one of their bags.

"What's up? Are you okay?" He asked nervously.

"I'm fine."

"Charlie?"

'Dad's fine." I nodded.

"Then...?"

"In the car." I told him. I didn't mind talking in front of Carmen, but I didn't want the entire airport hearing about my very...hot dream. When we got in the car, Jake climbed up front with me and Carmen fell asleep in the back.

"So?"

"I had a dream last night."

"Lots of people have dreams."

"It was a sex dream."

"Go Bella." He laughed. "Was Mike better in the dream than in real life?" He snickered. Mike wasn't horrible in bed, but he definitely wasn't the best I'd ever had...even though I'd only been with two other guys before him.

"It...the dream wasn't with Mike."

"Oh? Were you getting yourself off?" His face lit up.

"It was with another guy."

"O...oh."

"A hot guy who came into the store yesterday looking for tiling tools and grout."

"A...customer?" He laughed. "You had a sex dream with a customer?"

"Yes."

"Go, Bella."

"It's not funny, Jake." I sighed. "I'm engaged."

"Honey, I'm sure Mike has had sex dreams about other girls." He wasn't making me feel better. "I've had dreams about supermodels and not Carmen."

"This wasn't some fantasy about me and Ryan Reynolds!" I screeched. "It's typical to fantasize about the people you'll never have, but this was someone who said he'd be coming back to the store. How am I supposed to face him, Jake?"

"You're getting really squeaky."

"Jake!"

"Okay, what do you want me to say?" He asked without wiping that stupid grin off his face. "You had a sex dream with someone who isn't your fiancé. Suck it up...or get yourself off...and move on. It's not as big of a deal as you think it is."

"Mike an I are fighting."

"About?"

"He was asking me if I'd be willing to move out of state if he got a job and I said absolutely not." I explained. "I can't leave my Dad and he knows that."

"I know."

"But?" I sensed a but coming.

"But, Mike's done a lot for you these last few years." He shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, you definitely need to stay in Jacksonville, but you could compromise."

"I told him I'd move for him if he got something kind of close."

"Would you be willing to move to Orlando or Tampa?"

"Orlando is two hours away and Tampa is three."

"You have to compromise a little, Bella." He whispered. "I know you don't want to leave the state, but Charlie would be okay if you were two hours away."

"Why are you defending him? You don't even like Mike that much." None of the men in my life life Mike. Except Mike. It was weird, but I'm pretty sure Dad had brainwashed Jake and that's why Jake had an issue with him.

"I'm just saying, as a married man, Carmen and I have had a lot of fights about staying in Jacksonville." He explained. "And, even though my family is here, her job might move her other places."

"I'm not leaving my Dad."

"I know," He knew there was no use fighting with me. I pulled up to their apartment complex and Jake gently shook Carmen to wake up. I helped them carry their things inside before heading home. The silence was becoming deafening and we needed to have a conversation. When I got home, Mike was on the couch, working on his laptop.

"Hey," I whispered, hanging the keys on the hook and putting my purse on the table.

"Where'd you go this morning?" He asked, knowing I wasn't working today.

"I went to pick up Jake and Carmen from the airport."

"They have a good time on their cruise?"

"Yeah," I nodded. The small talk was almost worse than the silence. "Look, Mike. We need to talk about this."

"What's there to talk about?" He asked. "You're going to get whatever you want. Conversation done."

"That's not fair."

"What's not fair is that I've stayed in Jacksonville for you while you worked for your father and accepted a job from him so I didn't offend him and make you mad."

"You accepted if because you needed a job."

"I could have gotten an office job or something, Bells."

"So you're upset because I talked my Dad into giving you a job?"

"I'm mad because everything we've done has been on your terms."

"That's not true."

"It is true!" He stood up and walked over to me. "You didn't want to date right away, so I waited. You wanted to be graduated before I asked you to marry me, so I waited. You want to stay in Jacksonville, so we did. At some point, baby, you're going to have to give me a little bit."

"We're not getting anywhere." I rolled my eyes.

"Would you at least be willing to move to another city in Florida?" He finally asked. "I'm not asking you to move states, but if I got a job in Orlando or something..."

"I would consider it." I nodded. "I just...I love my Dad."

'I know you do."

"Then stop asking me to abadon him."

"I'm not asking you abandon him." He whispered. "I'm asking for you and I to be able to have our own lives without him. I know, he's important to you and your relationship means everything to you, but please...stop ignoring me."

"I'm not ignoring you." I knew he was talking more about in general and not this week. This week, we both ignored each other.

"Well, you don't put me first."

"You don't put me first!"

"This...Bella, we're talking in circles." He exclaimed, running his hands over his face. "We gotta figure this out. I don't want to spend our entire lives fighting about where we live and how close your Dad is."

"I don't either." I agreed.

"Finally, we agree on something." He laughed.

"He's my best friend, Mike." I whispered. "I grew up in that store."

"I know, and it isn't like I want to take you away from everything and everyone you love, but I want a job." He shook his head. "I want to do more with my life than pack boxes and ship them off somewhere."

"I want that for you too." I nodded. "Just please...don't pull me out of Florida."

"Trust me, I don't want to leave Florida either." He sighed. "We'll figure this out, babe." He pulled me into his tight embrace.

"I missed you." I closed my eyes as he rubbed my back.

"I missed you too." He kissed the top of my head. "I hate fighting with you."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Me too."


	6. When You Were Young

**Chapter Six: When You Were Young**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

We were finally doing it. Mason and I were finally looking for a house to move into so we didn't have to keep living in our cramped apartment. The realtor showed us a bunch of houses in the neighborhood I wanted to be in, but they were all over budget. I could have dipped into that money, but I wanted it to continue to collect interest so I could send Mason to college one day.

And, hopefully, go back and at least finish my degree.

When the realtor showed us the last house, that just wasn't right, she asked me if I trusted her. I said that I did and she drove us to a house that was really dingy on the outside and it looked like no one had live there in forever. She told us this house was abandoned five years ago and they'd just gotten the okay to sell it.

I had thought briefly about fixing up our house to live in, and when I looked up at the house, it was perfect. I picked Mason up and let him get a good look at the outside.

"It's gross." Mason giggled.

"No, bud, it just needs a little tlc."

"Tlc?" He asked

"Tender love and care." I laughed. "You wanna live here?"

"Now?"

"No, Daddy, Papa and Uncle Emmett would fix it and make it look really nice."

"It's a big house."

"It is big."

"Will I still go to preschool?" He asked and I couldn't help but chuckle. Of course that's the question he'd ask.

"Yeah, Mas. You'd still go to school." I set him down and let him run around in the small yard while I talked to our realtor. She explained that the city just wanted it off their hands and they were willing to sell it for a reasonable price. I asked if there were any other people interested and she said because it needs fixed up, that only one other couple wanted it. But, she also said they weren't willing to pay much for it so if I made a slightly bid, I'd probably get it.

When we were done, I strapped Mason into his seat and we headed back to the apartment. It was Friday, which meant we were having dinner with my parents. They were coming over to our place for once and our apartment was a mess since Mason refused to get dressed that morning. I chased him around for five minutes until I threatened to take away his screen time all together. But, but by that time, he'd managed to pull almost all of his toys into the living room and we were already late.

I shoved what I could back into his toy chest and then started making dinner. Since he was exhausted since he didn't get a nap, he played quietly in his room and I was thankful for the peace. I loved my son, but there were some times when he wouldn't stop talking and I wasn't even able to think straight. Silence was a rare gift in the house, but I took what I could get. Just as I was putting the pasta in the boiling water, there was a loud knock on the door.

"I got it! I got it!" Mason shouted as he scampered from his room to the door. "I got it!"

"Ask who it is before you open it!" I reminded him.

"Whooooo is it?" He giggled.

"The tickle monster!" Dad laughed from the other side of the door.

"Daddy, can we let the tickle monster?" He jumped up and down as I wiped my hands on a towel. I nodded my hand and he reached up and turned the doorknob.

"Arrhhhhhh!" Dad yelled as he picked Mason up and threw him over his shoulder.

"Papa!" Mason giggled as he threw him down on the couch and started tickling him. I didn't think there was a better sound than my sons laughter filling the room. Mom came over and gave me a kiss on the cheek before pulling Dad off of Mason.

"Hello, my beautiful boy." She gushed like it was the first time she'd seen him in months.

It had been four days since she saw him.

"Grandma!" He squealed, wiggling out of my Dad's grip and jumping into her arms. Mom had been a lifesaver while I'd been raising Mason. She was the biggest motherly figure he had, even though Alice and Rose were great, Mom was better. She was patient and actually disciplined him when he was misbehaving. Once dinner was ready, Dad put Mason in his seat and Mom started dishing out his food.

"What did you do today, Mason?" Dad asked.

"We learned 'bout shapes." He said with a mouthful of noodles. "Then Daddy and I looked at a house."

"A house?" Mom asked, looking my way.

"It's gross." He laughed. "Daddy needs to fix it."

"You're buying a fixer upper?" Dad asked.

"Thinking about it. It's in a good neighborhood and I don't want Mas to change preschools by moving out of the district." I explained. "I was thinking we could do it together."

"Edward, you know we don't have time for another project."

"It's just a thought. I can do it myself."

"You're going to fix up an entire house yourself?" Dad raised his eyebrows.

"Or it could be a weekend." I rolled my eyes. "I don't know, but all the other houses I liked were too much."

"I can draw a square!" Mason piped up as he tried to wiggle down from his booster seat.

"Mason, after dinner, okay?" I asked, praying he wouldn't argue with me.

"Okay." He smiled and I knew he was only behaving this well because my Mom was here. If there was anyone Mason didn't like being disciplined by it was my mother. I wished he was as afraid to be disciplined by me, but I could understand the kid. I'd been put in my place by mom countless times as a kid and it wasn't pleasant. For anyone.

When we were done, I cleaned up the dishes while Mason drew his shapes to show his grandparents. I rolled my eyes when he started showing off by coloring each shape a different color, but I loved how much he liked learning. He was just like I was when I was a kid. He was smart and he was going to let everyone know it. When the dishes were clean, I grabbed the cookies I'd bought at the store and broke one in half for Mason and made coffee for the grown ups.

After Mason was done showing off, Mom got his bath ready and I sat with Dad. We talked about projects he wanted to take on. I told him that we needed to slow down, and he just told me everything would work out. He was planning on interviewing a new crew to hire to help us finish up the smaller projects we had. I just nodded along, Dad was a business man first and a contractor second. He knew his shit and I wasn't going to argue his plan.

"He asleep?" I asked when Mom came out of Mason's bedroom.

"He was out before the fifth page." She laughed. "Edward, if you wanna sell this apartment you need to retile that bathroom. It's...in Mason's words...gross."

"I know, I just don't have any time." I shrugged. "Mason's all over the place all the time."

"We can take him for a day while you do it." Carlisle offered.

"But then we can't walk on the tile for at least a day." I argued.

"Then we'll have a sleep over." Mom rolled her eyes.

"I'll get the stuff tomorrow." I told them. We talked for a little bit longer before they called it a night. Once they were gone, I sat down with a beer and watched a rerun of friends. It was nights like these where I wished I wasn't alone. Trust me, I loved my son, but it would have been nice to have someone to watch TV with who wasn't my sister or mother.

The next morning, I took Mason with me to Home Depot to purchase new tile for the bathroom. I didn't bother getting the other things since because I assumed I had everything with my other tools. However, when we got home and I looked through my stuff, I realized I didn't have the spacers I needed to the leveling pliers. Fuck. Emmett had taken those from me and him and Rose were gone for the weekend. I looked at the clock and realized it was already three forty-five, most places were probably already closed since it was Saturday and I wasn't going all the way out of Home Depot again.

I called Alice, asking if she could watch Mason while I ran out to one of the local hardware stores. I just needed to be in and out and I wouldn't have that luxury if Mason was there. While I was waiting for her to show up, I called one of the hardware stores Dad had always liked for getting things for himself and not the company. I found the number online and dialed.

"Swan's Hardware, this is Bella speaking." The employee answered. Damn. She sounded cute. "How can I help you?"

"Hi, I was just wondering if you sold tiling tools?" I asked.

"Yes, we carry a wide variety of different tools as well as different brands." She was so professional. I wondered if she was as cute as her voice was.

"And you're open until what time today?"

"We close at five on Saturdays." She told me and I looked at the clock. It was already four, but it wasn't that far away from the apartment. "But, we're open on Sundays as well if you can't make it."

"I'll be there. Thanks." I assured her.

"Well, I'll see you in a few." She hung up the phone just as I heard keys in the lock. Yes, I'd stupidly given my key to the apartment to my family...in case of emergencies. Everyone else knocked, but Alice always just barged in. I was lucky she hadn't come in while I was just in my towel after the shower...

"You know, you could knock." I rolled my eyes as I grabbed my keys. "Mason! I'm going out to get something, bud. Aunt Alice is here!"

"Aunt Alice!" He screeched as he came running from his bedroom to the door. "Bye, Daddy."

"See ya later, guys!" I called as I shut the door behind me. I made my way over to the hardware store and parked across the street. I made my way inside and hoped the girl I talked to on the phone was there. I made my way down the aisle and I could hear footsteps coming towards me.

"Hi," I recognized the voice. When I looked up, I almost dropped my phone. She was beautiful and fucking hot on top of that. I felt myself harden beneath my jeans and I hoped she wouldn't notice. That was the last thing I needed right now. "Can I help you with something?"

"Are you Bella?" I asked with a smile.

"I am."

"I'm the tile guy from over the phone." I laughed nervously. I didn't really know what else to do, so I laughed. "Could you help me find the tools I need?"

"Yeah, they're this way." She turned and I took a moment to look at her ass. I wasn't someone to stare, but damn her butt was perfect. I shook my head as I followed her down the aisle. "What kind of tools do you need?"

"I need spacers and leveling pliers." He said, completely distracted as he looked at the different spacers we carried.

"Can I make a suggestion?"

"You know about tiling?" I raised my eyebrows.

"I've been working at this store since I was five." Wait. What? "I know all about everything in here...and a little too well."

"Then by all means, suggest away." I winked. What the hell was I doing? This girl was just trying to help me find what I needed, even though I already knew exactly what I needed.

"The Vitrex brand is popular. And then these are the pliers my Dad always says are good."

"You're Dad a contracter?" I asked, grabbing the spacers I needed

"He owns the store."

"That's why you've been working here since you were five." I hit my forehead with the palm of my head. Duh, Edward. "Duh. That makes more sense than what I was thinking."

"What were you thinking?" She giggled. Damn, she was cute on top of everything else.

"That you were just an overachiever who wanted a job as soon as she could get one."

"I am an overachiever, but I don't think any old hardware store would have hired me." She told me. "Is there anything else I can help you with?"

"While I'm here, I might as well get the grout if you have good deals." I could get the grout for free from the shop, but I just wanted an excuse to talk to her some more.

"We have the best deals in Jacksonville." She led me down the aisle. "Are you redoing your bathroom or something?"

"The entire house. I just bought a fixer upper." Wait...not I hadn't. What was I doing?

"Really? Are you a contractor?"

"I am. I work for my Dad's construction company. Him and my brother are going to help me fix the house." No they weren't. They hadn't agreed to help me yet...and I hadn't even bought the house yet. Stop talking, Cullen.

"What company?" She asked.

"Cullen's Construction."

"Your Dad is Carlisle Cullen?" Everyone knew my Dad and everyone knew our company. I felt this weird sense of pride as she beamed at me. Dad was a pretty big deal.

"Well, my adoptive father is Carlisle Cullen." Why was I telling her this? I picked up a tub of grout and stood up. "I think I have everything."

"Come on, I'll ring you up." She led me to the counter and my heart dropped when I saw the small diamond on her finger. Of course she was fucking engaged. I had finally found someone to flirt with and she was fucking engaged. I'm just glad I saw the ring, because I was about to ask her out.

"Have a nice day." She smiled, handing me the bag.

"This house needs a lot of help." I told her. That, was true. So if I bought the house, I'd need a lot of stuff. "I'll probably be back once I start buying for it." But...I'd be buying in bulk. Shopping at a small hardware store was not going to be gppd for my wallet. I really needed to shut it.

"You're not getting this stuff for the house?" She asked, confused because I'd just contradicted myself.

"Nope. I need to retile the bathroom in our apartment before we can sell it." I corrected myself.

"Well, enjoy your tile grout." She giggled as I turned.

"Oh, I will." And I winked at her again. I turned and walked towards the door and I had to admit, I was really fucking upset that she was taken. She was really stinking cute and knew he stuff about tools and shit.

Oh well. I'd been alone for this long, what was a few more year?

I made my way home and while Alice kept Mason entertained, I figured there was no time like the present to start tearing the old tile up. I grabbed my hammer and started hitting the tile, breaking it up. I was making way too big of a deal out of this, but I just really needed to hit something. Once all the tile was up, I decided to call it a day and closed the door and started making dinner for Mason and I. Once we were finished with dinner, I packed Mason a bag because we were heading over to my parents to stay while I redid the bathroom.

We headed over to my parents and Mom put Mason to bed for me while I drank a glass of whiskey with my father. He stayed quiet, but he knew me well. He knew there was something on my mind, but he knew me well enough to not pressure me to talk about it. I wasn't going to talk about it. I mean, I'd talked to her for a total of twenty minutes, but ever since Mason was born, no one had even caught my interest. She was the first person who made me want to date again.

"Do you think Mason is okay, Dad?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...without a mother."

"Why?" He turned to face me. "You meet someone?"

"Yes...and no?"

"You're going to have to elaborate, son." He laughed.

"She works at the hardware store I went to this afternoon and she's really beautiful and funny and...just easy to talk to." I took a deep breath. "But, she's engaged."

"Oh," He nodded.

"And...I'm not going to do anything." I assured him. "But, for the first time since he was born and since Lauren left, I realized how much a boy needs a mother."

"You're doing fine, Edward."

"I know, but every kid deserves to have a mom and a dad." I shrugged. "And I've haven't really thought about women since he was born because I needed to focus my attention on him. It isn't like I can just go to the bar every night and meet girls."

"No, not ever night." He shook his head. "But, you have a variety of babysitters available if you did want to go out."

"Dad."

"I'm serious, Edward." He rolled his eyes. "You think I would have met your mom if I hadn't let someone watch Alice for me?"

"You and Mom met at the supermarket." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, and if Alice had been with me then I would have been focusing on her and making sure she wasn't sneaking things into the cart." He laughed. "But, because she wasn't there I could focus on my shopping." He said. "But, for what it's worth, Edward, you're doing an amazing job as a single dad."

"Thanks." I smiled.

"Don't assume that he's desperate for a mom." He whispered. "I think he's perfectly happy with the way things are."


	7. Pages Turned

**Chapter Seven:** **Pages Turned**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"What do you think about this?"

"I like it."

"You just...like it?"

"It's nice."

"Just nice?"

"Jeeze, Bella. What do you want me to say?"

"Something over than ' _it's nice_.'" I scoffed. "This is your wedding too."

"Hey, as long as I get to call you my wife when it's over, you can do whatever you want." He laughed. "Just...don't make me wear pink."

"Mike, the cake is important." I wined as I turned another page in the binder. "And you already know that we decided on sea foam green." I rolled my eyes.

Of course he'd forgotten.

"Exactly, so I don't have any worries with you planning the wedding." He smiled, leaning in and kissing my hand. "You'll plan a beautiful wedding."

"I am not doing this myself!"

"Would you relax?" He thought this was funny. It wasn't funny. This was important and he wasn't taking it seriously. "I don't expect you to, Bella." His voice was softer. "I'm just saying, I know anything you pick would be wonderful."

"I just...don't want you to hate your own wedding and the way it looks." I shut the binder.

"Bella, we could be getting married in a dumpster and I'd still be happy."

"You would not."

"I would." He assured me, his eyes lighting up. "Because I love you and I just want to marry you."

"I should have picked pink." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Now, that's just plain mean." He sat back in his chair.

"We also need a date." I smiled. "You're going to have to help me with that."

"What about fall?"

"Yeah?"

"I love Florida, but it's hot and humid and sticky in the summer." He kissed my hand again. "I think early October would be perfect."

"I think so too." I smiled. I knew since we were having the wedding in my fathers backyard, we didn't need to find a venue for a specific day.

"Or we could elope tomorrow." He smirked.

"I'm late." I rolled my eyes. "Just look through the book...and I mean really look through it. And tell me what you like."

"I will look through it before I have to get ready for work." He promised. I went into our bedroom and got ready for work. Dad promised by the end of the month, I'd be back in my office. I'd finally convinced him that we could afford the help and we needed the help. After grumbling at me, he took my papers and agreed with me. He was picky with his employees, so I wasn't expecting him to pick anyone anytime soon.

Once I was dressed, I brushed my teeth, and headed to the store. I hadn't seen Edward since he bought his tile grout...which was a week ago. I was so hoping he'd be coming back soon, but I realized he probably wouldn't. When he bought the tile stuff, he was retiling his bathroom so he didn't need stuff in bulk. If he was redoing a house, he'd need to go to Lowes because it would be way cheaper. On one had, I was super disappointed that he hadn't come back. On the other hand, I was relieved because I didn't need Mike seeing me become a babbling fool in front of the very sexy customer.

Once I got the the store, Dad was sitting at the counter while the guy before me was shelving things. I kissed him on the cheek and went up to my office to grab some things to work on. When I got back downstairs, Danny was gone and Dad was working on the computer.

"What are you doing?" I asked, sitting down at the extra stool.

"Looking through applications."

"I see that." I rolled my eyes. "I mean, why are you doing it down here?"

"Dunno." He shrugged. "I just wanted to be on the floor, I guess."

"You're so fickle." I giggled. "Did you go home last night?" I asked, already knowing the answer. When I went upstairs, I saw that he had his bed made on the couch in his office.

"I was working late and didn't feel like driving home."

"Bullshit."

"Isabella." He warned like he did when I was sixteen.

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore." I nudged him. "I am a grownup."

"Bullshit." He smiled. "You're never going to grow up."

"Whatever gets you through the day, Daddy." I pushed him away from the computer so I could get my work done.

"Is...ah...ummm your fiancé working today?"

"You made the schedules."

"It doesn't mean I memorize it, Bella." He huffed. At least he called Mike my boyfriend this time. "Is he?"

"Yes, sir." I pushed him away since I could feel him watching to work I was doing. "Do you want to do this for yourself, Dad?"

"Smart ass." He mumbled before grabbing his coffee mug and going back upstairs. The day passed by pretty slow, especially since I was anticipating Edward's arrival. Every time the damn bell rang, I woke up and tried to look around to see if I could see who it was. It was never Edward, which pissed me off.

"Bella?" Jake asked form behind me, making me jump. I had been very involved in, yet another, Edward fantasy. These damn things really had to stop. I loved Mike. I was marrying Mike. This random guy was just working me up.

"What?" I barked.

"Sorry, didn't mean to ruin a sex dream." He smirked and I smacked him. "But, your precious Mike didn't show up."

"Huh?"

"He didn't come." He spelled it out for me. "He was scheduled to work an hour ago. Carmen is going to kill me if I don't have time to shower before dinner with her parents."

"Just go," I sighed. "I'll stay late."

"You shouldn't have to, Bella." He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. "I'll see ya!" He called as he ran out the door. I picked up the store phone and dialed Mike's cell number.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Ummm...you remember you have a job right?" I asked. "You know, the one that pays you to come in and work."

"Shit, I totally forgot!"

"You...forgot?"

"I fell asleep and then it just slipped my mind."

"Just because we're engaged doesn't mean you get special treatment."

"Yeah, I know." He sighed. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"This might be a joke to you, but it isn't some joke to me."

"Bells, come on. You've been late to work before."

"Yeah, by a few minutes." I rolled my eyes. "Not an hour late."

"I'll come in now and stay later."

"Yeah. Whatever." I hung up the phone.

Mike showed up fifteen minutes later and I didn't bother speaking to him. I wasn't angry at him because I knew he really didn't mean to be late. I was just annoyed because this wasn't some dumb summer job that didn't matter. Not to me anyway. It was important and I didn't want Dad thinking Mike was a total dumbness.

"I'm heading out." I told Mike as I popped my head in the back. "Please, don't be late again."

"This was the first time I've been late." He shrugged. "I really did fall asleep and then I was..."

"It's okay." I nodded, even though I was still kind of annoyed. "I'm heading to the grocery store and I'll leave you a plate for you to head up." I said, turning around and making my way towards the door.

"Bella?" Mike called from behind me. I turned around, and he was looking sheepish. "I am sorry."

"I'll see you later." I smiled, turning back around and leaving the store. I made my way to the post office in order to send a package to Mike's parents and then made my way to the grocery store.

I took my time tonight, in no rush to get home. For once, I was buying for the entire week insead of just buying what I needed that particular night. Dad said that Mom made the grocery store her sanctuary, a place to go and jus be away from people. That's what I had turned my nightly shopping routines into, but it was getting annoying being here everyday. Before dragging Mike into wedding planning this morning, I made a lis to get us through our week.

As I was grabbing what I needed for Chicken a la Bella, I recognized a familiar face mulling over the different pork cuts. Before I could even try not to make a scene, I dropped the chicken breasts I was holding and I heard the styrafoam crack. He looked up and raised an eyebrow before noticing me. I prayed he just continued to look over his meat, but he smiled at me and made his way over to me.

"Bella, right?" He smiled, kneeling down and picking the chicken off the floor. "I don't think you can buy this."

"That's probably a good idea." I blushed.

After the dream I had about him, I'm surprised I wasn't more obvious.

"Are you feeding an army or something?" He asked as I picked up another package.

"I like to cook." I nodded. "And what I cook needs a lot of ingredients." I was starting to babble. "I usually come once a day, but that was getting old so I'm shopping for the week."

"Yeah, with my schedule I typically only get one hour a week to do this." He explained. "And usually Mason is with me so it isn't usually this relaxing."

"Mason?" I croaked.

"My son." He answered and then looked to his side. It almost looked like he was questioning himself for telling me all of this. "He's four."

"That's a good age."

"How much more stuff do you need to buy?"

"I have one more meal that I need to buy for, but I have most of the ingredients at home." I explained. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if you'd want to get coffee or something?"

"Oh, ah..."

"Come on," He pleaded. "Mason's with my brother for another..." He looked at his watch. "Hour. And I usually take all my time at the store."

"Why don't you do that then?"

"Because then I wouldn't get to get coffee with a pretty girl.

Annnnnd swoon.

I blushed. Of course I fucking blushed.

"Oh...yeah, coffee would be great." I smiled. Coffee. It was just coffee. People get coffee all the time without anything ever happening.

I was just asking to have a fucking sex dream about him tonight if I was going out with him. I mean, I'd talked to him for maybe twenty minutes when he came into the store and he had me wet and worked up. I almost didn't even want to know what was going to happen if I actually spent significant time with him.

"Great, you finish your shopping and I'll meet you up front."

"Okay." I nodded, turning my car and pushing it away from him. If I wasn't in the middle of the grocery store, I would have fucking screamed. Suddenly, I felt this little ping of guilt. Was this considered cheating or something? I mean, getting coffee was as platonic as doing something with Jake?

Wasn't it?

I pushed all the thoughts of guilt aside when I saw him sitting on one of the benches in front of the store. His grocery's were all in bags and he was doing someone on his phone. He was just so damn hot and I really wondered what he was like in bed. I mean, he had a kid, so he probably was good in bed...shit was that wrong of me to be thinking? I knew there was a line I couldn't cross, but I felt like I was starting to get dangerously close to the line.

"Ready?" He smiled once I pushed my cart to where he was sitting.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Where were you thinking we should go?"

"There's a small place on Stockton Street." He explained. "Bold Bean."

"I'll meet you there." I assured him as I turned the cart to head to my car. I put the cold and frozen stuff in the insulated bags and threw the other bags in my trunk. I took a deep breath before getting in and putting the key in the ignition. I made my way to the coffee shop and when I looked at it, it was a really cool store. I could already see Edward sitting at a table near the window and I wondered how he'd managed to beat me by so much.

"I was starting to think you'd ditched me." He winked when I sat down.

"How'd you get here so much quicker?"

"I know a few shortcuts."

"You aren't going to tell me?"

"They're secret."

"I thought we were better friends than this, Edward."

"Trust me, I haven't even told my brother about my secret shortcut to Bold Bean."

"Do you come here a lot?" I asked.

"I like it better than the big chains like Starbucks." He shrugged. "I usually come here when I want peace and quiet when someone else is watching Mason if I have some extra time...like now."

"The place is nice looking, but is the coffee any good?"

"The best." He nodded. "I think it's better than Starbs."

"Did you just call Starbucks...Starbs?" I laughed.

"I did." He said with a straight face. "Now, what can I get you?"

"Oh, you don't..."

"I want to." He smiled.

"Oh..." I blushed. How was this guy single? "Moka Java is perfect. Thanks." He winked at me...again...and made his way to the counter. I watched as he ordered our drinks and smiled when I saw how polite he was. At first, I thought he was just being super polite at the store because he was trying to flirt, but he was just genuinely polite.

"What'd you get?" I asked as he sat my coffee in front of me.

"Just plain coffee."

"Boring."

"Hey, I think if we're going to drink it, we should drink it in the purest of forms."

"Wow," I rolled my eyes and smiled. "So...you're a single parent?" I had noticed that he wasn't wearing a ring at the store, but that didn't mean he wasn't with Mason's mother.

"Yeah." He nodded. "My ex-wife and I got pregnant while we were still in school."

"Why'd you get a divorce?" What the hell was I doing? This wasn't the conversation you have with someone you didn't know. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to intrude."

"It's fine." He assured. "Lauren...she didn't even want Mason. She only told me when she was at an abortion clinic and couldn't go through with it." He explained. "Her car wasn't starting which is why she called me from the clinic.

"Wow,"

"Yeah. I asked her to marry me...because it was the right thing to do." He rolled his eyes. "Four days after Mason was born, she left."

"She...just left?"

"She let divorce papers for me sign and sent over full custody right papers." He told me. "Haven't heard from her since."

"That must be hard."

"Lauren and I hadn't even been dating for an entire year before we got pregnant." He shrugged. "It wasn't going to last anyway."

"Still, on Mason."

"Mason is better off without her." He smiled. "He's a really great kid, and barely looks anything like her. The only thing he got from her is his hair. It's dark, like hers." He told me. "He's in this phase right now...shit."

"What?"

"I'm one of those parents who's babbling about their son in the company of a beautiful girl."

"I asked you about him, Edward." I nodded. Suddenly, I wasn't entirely sure if he new I was engaged, so I picked up my coffee cup with my left hand. I made sure he could see my ring, and he must have seen it. His face dropped for a split second before looking back up at my eyes.

"You sure?"

"He's your kid. He's a big part of your life."

"He's my entire life." He corrected me.

"I wish more parents were like you." I whispered, thinking back to all the kids I see in the stores with parents who treat them like dirt.

"Tell me about you." He smiled. "I've been talking about myself this entire time."

"Well, Dad opened the hardware store when he was really young, and it just kept growing."

"Cool, but what about you?" He laughed. Of course he'd caught on to me talking about my Dad and not me.

"What do you want to know?"

"What's your fiancé's name?" Damn, he didn't lose anytime.

"Mike." I smiled. "We met my sophomore year at school. He was an RA and I was playing my music too loud."

"Wow, so romantic." He smirked.

"We were friends for a year before he asked me out." I explained.

"When are you getting married."

"Early October." I was glad I could actually answer this question now.

"How long have you been engaged?" He was very interested in my life with Mike.

"Four months."

"Don't you think October is a bit soon?" He asked.

"No," I shook my head. But...was it too soon? "It's still a year away." It was November now, so we still had planty of time. And I really didn't want to be one of those people who is engaged for three years before they get married. It just didn't seem necessary.

"Right, it's none of my business." He looked down at his cup. "Are you going to work in a hardware store for the rest of your life?" He smirked.

"I actually am the financial manager." I explained. "I'm just helping Dad out. The girl that I took over for had a baby and couldn't keep working. And...my Dad is really stubborn and picky and he hadn't managed to find anyone before she had the baby since the baby was a month early."

"Yeah, I love working with my Dad."

"Did you always plan on that?"

"Nope." He shook his head. "I was premed when Lauren got pregnant. And then when she left, I couldn't do it all by myself and ended up moving back home."

"Where were you going to school at?"

"Duke."

"That's a great school!"

"I know." Duh, he already knew. "So, it sucked getting to my senior year and not being able to finish, but Mason is way more important." He smiled. "I wouldn't mind working at McDonalds as long as he had everything he needed."

"Mike doesn't see it that way." I mumbled and he raised his eyebrow at me. "Mike had a decent job when he graduated, but he lost it we needed the money. I begged my Dad to hire him for the money, but he's having a hard job accepting that."

"Some people just don't get it." Edward rolled his eyes. No one had ever understood me more than he did. "Jobs aren't necessarily about glamour, they're about getting what you need."

"I totally get that!" I giggled, looking down at my phone for the time.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just have to get home and put the grocery's away." I sighed. I did not want to leave, but we both had responsibilities.

"Shit, I'm late." He cursed as he looked at his watch. "I was supposed to get Mason fifteen minutes ago."

"Huh," I laughed, grabbing my sweater.

"What?"

"Maybe you aren't this picture perfect Dad I thought you were."

"You're actually the worst." He stuck his tongue out at me and for some reason, that made me really happy. That's what I always did to people, and everyone thought it was really strange.

"Hey, you're the one who forgot about your kid." I reminded him as he walked me to my car. When I hard the door opened, I turned to him. As I looked into his beautiful, green eyes, I wasn't sure what to say. "Thanks...for the coffee."

"Yeah," He smiled as he leaned in. This was it. I could let him kiss me or I could turn my head and stay faithful to my fiancé.

"I'm sorry," I whispered when I turned my head.

"Shit, I'm sorry." He backed up. "You're...I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I nodded. "Edward...let's just forget about it."

"Good idea." He blushed in embarrassment. I got in my car and he shut the door. He headed to his car and once I saw he was gone, I hit my head against the steering wheel.

Now what?


	8. Yeah, It's Okay

**Chapter Eight: Yeah, It's Okay**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

 _What the actual fuck, Cullen?_

I had just tried to kiss Bella which was wrong on so many levels. First of all, I barely knew her. I'd talked to her twice, and the first time was in her store while she was doing her job. She _had_ to talk to me then. Second of all, she was fucking engaged. And I knew she was engaged. We'd talked about her fiancé while we were getting coffee and I saw the ring when we first met.

Stupid idiot.

I pulled into Emmett's driveway and tried to shake it off. I was back home and I had to focus on Mason now. There was no room for me to beating myself up over the almost kiss with an engaged woman. I sat in my car for one more minute while I tried to readjust my thoughts and go back into Dad mode. Once I was good, I got out and used my key to get into their house. I dropped my hoodie over the stairs railing and went into the living room. Mason and Rose were cuddled up on the couch, fast asleep and Emmett was reading some magazine on the recliner.

"Dude, where were you?" Emmett asked when he put his magazine down. He didn't sound mad, just worried since I was never late picking Mason up.

"I got caught up."

"You wanna go in the kitchen?"

"Please." I nodded. As much as I wanted this to just work out, it never would on its own. As much as Emmett yanked my chain and picked on me when we were kids, he was always there for me. Since he was the size of a linebacker, he always beat up the kids who made fun of me and always took whatever punishment they gave him. Even though I was constantly telling him I could fight my own battles, he always said he was just doing his job as the big brother.

I didn't know what I would have done without him.

"What's up, little brother?" He asked, handing me a beer.

"What exactly happened with Charlotte?" I asked and he nearly choked. Charlotte was Emmett's dream girl in high school, but she was in a serious relationship. Emmett pined after her all the time, even when he got himself a girlfriend.

"What do...what do you mean?" He stuttered.

"You guys were good friends for most of high school and then...she just disappeared from your life?"

"Nothing happened." He lied.

"And Peter also disappeared." I reminded him. Peter was the quarterback on the football team and he was one of Emmett's best friends. They were inseparable until Charlotte moved to town and Peter got the girl. Emmett was hurt at first, but after a while he got over it and they became good friends again.

"Why are you bringing them up?"

"I just..." I took a deep breath. "When I went to the hardware store to get stuff to retile our bathroom, the girl working there was so cute and nice and funny." I explained. "And...she's engaged."

"Ah,"

"And then today I ran into her at the grocery store and we got coffee." I told him. "And when we were saying goodbye I...Emmett, I..."

"Edward, what'd you do?"

"I tried kissing her." I shrugged. "She turned her head and we didn't kiss, but I fucking knew she was engaged. We talked about her dear fiancé."

"Whoa," He sighed, taking a sip of his beer. "Charlotte and I had sex right before Christmas senior year."

"Whoa," I mocked.

"We were at a party and we were super drunk." He explained. "She was upset because her and Peter had gotten into a fight about school and he left her at the party. We were talking and drinking and then...I kissed her. She pulled away at first, but I could tell she wanted me and she initiated the kiss again."

"And things got out of hand?"

"You could say that." He laughed bitterly. "The next morning, we woke up naked in bed together."

"You didn't remember it?"

"Not like I wanted to remember it." He whispered, knowing Rose was in the other room. "To make matters worse...Peter walked in just after we'd realized what we had done."

"Where were you guys?" I asked.

"Victoria's house." He shrugged. Vicotira and Charlotte were best friends in high school and it wasn't uncommon for Charlotte to stay in their guest room. "Peter had gone to Charlotte's to apologize, but came back once her parents said she'd stayed over."

"I'm getting old, Emmett."

"My friendship with both of them was ruined." He scoffed. "Peter beat me up that morning and Charlotte blamed me for him ending it with her. They were my friends and I fucking blew it to have a good time."

"You guys were drunk."

"I wasn't so drunk that I didn't know what was happening." He shrugged. "I could have stopped it, but I didn't want to. Plus, Peter didn't care. I'd slept with his girlfriend and that's all eh saw when he looked at me. And...I don't blame him."

"But, I don't know her fiancé." I was trying to find a loophole.

"No, you don't. But, are you willing to break them up?" I was silent. "It...being the person that someone cheats with haunts you."

"You still beat yourself up over it?"

"My situation was a little different." He reminded me. "But, yeah. I hate knowing that I ruined their happiness."

"It was a high school relationship, Emmett." I hated that Emmett was still feeling guilty over this.

"Peter told me that if they went to the same college, he'd ask her to marry him."

"Oh,"

"That's why he was so desperate to get her to go with him to Georgia." He explained. "Anyway, it stays with you when you know you're the person who broke them up. Even though you don't know him...it's not worth it, Edward."

"She's just so..."

"She's not worth it." He interrupted. "Plus, you have Mason to focus on."

"Just because I get a girlfriend, doesn't mean I'd ignore my son!" My voice rose. I hated when people thought that if I had a girlfriend Mason would be pushed to the back of my mind. "And you know that, Emmett."

"Hi, Daddy." Mason sung as he shuffled into the kitchen. He was rubbing his eyes as he climbed into my lap. "Can we have macaroni tonight?"

"No, buddy. We're going to have salmon."

"Yuck." He wined.

"You love salmon." I argued.

"No I don't." Here we go.

"Well, maybe for lunch tomorrow Aunt Rose will let you have mac n' cheese."

"Okay!" He sang, throwing his little arms around my neck. "Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." These moment with my son made my life worth living. Girlfriend or no girlfriend.

"I love you more, Mason." I kissed the top of his head.

* * *

Monday, I dropped Mason off at preschool and went over to the realtor's office. My offer had been accepted and I was closing on the house that morning. I went into the office and as I opened the door, my hands were shaking. I wasn't really sure why I was shaking so much. But, then I realized this was one of the most adult things I'd done in a while. Obviously, taking care of Mason was very adult, but my parents had helped me buy our apartment. Dad did most of the talking and negotiating and Mom helped me furnish it.

This time, it was all me. No one was helping me with this and I was excited for Mason and I to move in.

It wasn't going to be easy. This house needed a lot of work and I was still working full time. Dad and Emmett had agreed to help on the weekends, but I was going to have to work on it myself at night after work. Luckily, Mom was willing to help with Mason while I worked on the house, but I was still going to have to spend time with him. Getting this house done wasn't going to be easy, but it was definitely going to be worth it when Mason and I had more room to just live.

I had asked Rosalie and Alice to help me design the house. Building I could definitely do without any problems. I had a good idea of what needed to be done to get this house back to normal, but as far as making it look good, I had no idea. Most of the time, our clients at work already had a designer hired and they told Dad what to do, but I didn't want to spend time money on hiring a designer. Alice had gone to school for marketing and worked with a local fashion designer and Rosalie just had a good eye for these kinds of things. I trusted them completely to make our house look good.

"What do you want your room to look like, Mason?" I asked him after I'd picked him up on Friday.

"In the new house?" He squeaked as he kicked his legs excitedly.

"Yep, in our new house."

"Hmmmm." He was really thinking hard about it. "The ocean!"

"The ocean?" I asked. I knew I should probably wait until we were ready to decorate to ask since he changed his mind every five minutes. "Why the ocean, Mase?"

"Because the ocean has sharks." He said matter of factly. "And sharks are soooooo cool."

"Sharks are pretty cool." I smiled as I pulled into the parking lot. I grabbed Mason from his seat and held his hand as we walked upstairs. Unfortunately, with living in an apartment complex, we always ran the chance of running into our neighbors. As I was unlocking our door, Jessica was leaving her apartment and I cringed when she said my name.

"Hi, Edward." She whispered. I rolled my eyes at her, and wanted to ignore her, but Mason was friendly with everyone and greeted her before I could.

"Jessica!" He squealed. My little, innocent didn't realize how awful she really was. She completely ignored him as she placed her hand on my shoulder.

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked.

"Mason and I are watching _The Lego Movie_." I informer her, hoping she'd get the hint.

"You should find a babysitter and we can have our own little movie night."

"Sorry, I have plans." I shrugged.

"He's three, he'll forget about it."

"Mason is four." I corrected. "And I promised him Monday we'd watch this movie together."

"Do it another time."

"Jess, I have a kid." I rolled my eyes. "I can't just drop him on other people, and I made a commitment to him."

"Well, when you want to have some...grown up playtime, give me a call." She winked and walked away. I literally felt shivers going down my spine, and not in a good way. Thankfully, my son was too engrossed in his action figure to notice what she'd just done.

"Come on, little man." I said, shuffling him into the apartment. He ran into his room, set his little backpack down on his bed and pulled out his tub of action figures.

"Daddy! Play guys with me!" He begged as he dumped the bin out. I smiled at him as I sat down in front of him. Mason always had a very vivid imagination and I loved playing with him. His stories were always short and he was constantly changing things, but that's what I loved most. He was easily able to come up with different ways to keep himself busy. I was really grateful he was able to do that, because it made nights easier when I had things to do.

I played with him for a little bit before I needed to start getting things done. Since we were starting work on the house tomorrow, I needed to get this place cleaned up tonight. I knew it was going to be impossible to really clean while Mason was up, but I didn't have a choice. I was exhausted and needed to go to bed early so I could get up the next morning. Mason kept himself entertained until the pizza man got there with our dinner. As much as I loved cooking for Mason and knowing what was in his food, I was too tired to cook for us.

"Where does this come from, Daddy?" He asked, holding up a piece of pepperoni.

"Pepperoni comes from a cow and a pig mixed together."

"So I'm eating cow?" He asked. I really hoped this wasn't going to put him off. He'd never asked where his food came from before and I really just wanted him to keep eating normally.

"Yes."

"Okay," He put the piece in his mouth and I sighed in relief. Once we were done with dinner, I cleaned up our dishes as he changed into his PJ's for the movie. Once that was taken care of, I put the DVD in the player and cuddled up with Mason on the couch. He was out within the first hour and I gently lifted him into my arms and carried him to his bed.

When I looked down at my sleeping child, I wondered how I'd gotten so freaking lucky. Sure, the timing wasn't great when he was born, but I wouldn't have traded him for the world. As much as I wanted to be a doctor growing up, being a Dad was the best thing that ever happened to me.

* * *

"How do suggest we attack this, Dad?" I asked as we stood outside the house, looking up.

"You don't have a plan?" He shouted and I chuckled. Of course I had fucking plan. I wasn't Emmett. I always planned ahead.

"Duh I have a plan, Carlisle." I shook my head.

"Let's just do this." Emmett shook his head. Emmett had always intended to work with Carlisle. He did well in school, but he was definitely a more hands on person than I had been growing up. While I was able to focus in class, Emmett was constantly moving and when we were kids at recess, he spent the entire time just running around the big field. Carlisle had tried suggesting that Emmett should get his business degree, but he refused and got a more extensive 'construction education' than I did.

The three of us set off to work. The house was pretty torn up inside, so we spent most of the weekend demolishing the things inside that we could. I knew when I was looking for houses that I wanted an open floor plan so I could keep an eye on Mason while I worked in the kitchen. He never got into trouble, but I didn't like not being able to see him while I cooked and he played in the living room. I also knew that I wanted one of the rooms in the house to be an office space. I knew I wasn't business man, but paying bills and stuff was a lot easier when you could have peace and quiet. Plus, when Mason got older, it would be good for him to have a room to do his homework in.

By the time we were done on Sunday, the house was pretty much gutted. Thankfully, everything was structurally sound and what we were doing was mostly cosmetic. We weren't going to have to rewire anything and we shouldn't be running into any dramatic problems with foundation or anything. Carlisle had top notch guys hired at the company to do that kind of stuff and they agreed to look at the house for me.

I was really thankful my family was in this business or else I wouldn't have been doing this.

Carlisle and I drove back to their house so I could get Mason and my car. When we walked inside, Mom pressed his finger to her lip and shushed us. When I looked at the clock, and it was only seven. Mason always had more than enough energy to keep him awake until eight or eight-thirty.

"What's up?" I whispered, sitting down next to my Mom.

"Mason isn't feeling very well." She shrugged as she stood to say hello to Carlisle. "He threw up after dinner."

"Nooo," I wined. I hated when Mason was sick. I had to miss work and he was always miserable all day. He was just like me when I got sick when I was a kid, and even now. Being the sick was the worst and I hated seeing my kid so unsettled.

"I'm not sure if it's a bug or what." She explained. "He fell asleep in our bed about ten minutes ago."

"You put him in our bed?"

"He wouldn't go anywhere else." Mom explained. "You can stay here tonight, sweetie, and just let him sleep."

"No, we'll go home." I shook my head. First it was stitches and now it was this. The poor kid couldn't catch a break lately. "I'll let him sleep for a bit longer, though. Did you take his temperature."

"I knew I was forgetting something." Mom hissed. "Sorry, kid."

"It's okay." I sighed as Dad patted my back. "Can I have some dinner, Mom?" I begged pathetically. This weekend had been exhausting and I was probably going to be up all night with Mason. Mom led me into the kitchen and just as she put my food on a plate, Mason was calling for her.

"I can go." I tried, but she refused and made me sit back down. I quickly ate my food so I could go check on Mason. Him and Mom were in the bathroom and he was just lying her in lap.

"He threw up again." She whispered as she stroked his hair.

"Hi, bud."

"Daddy." He cried, holding his arms out. I picked him up out of my Mom's arms and rubbed his back.

"Let's go home."

"I wanna stay." He wined. I usually would have just gone home, but Mom had said we could stay with them. I knew it was going to be a long night and having Mom with me in the morning wouldn't have been the worst thing. I turned to Mom to make sure it was okay and she just nodded.

"You're room is all ready." She smiled. When we moved out, Mason was almost in a big boy bed. Mom had bought one and replaced the crib and declared it Mason's room. I thought it was unnecessary because he could just sleep in a normal guest room, but Mom said it wasn't a big deal. I took his temperature and he did have a slight fever. After giving him some Children's Tylenol, I carried him into his room.

"Rainbow Fish." He begged for his favorite story after I'd changed his clothes and put a wastebasket next to his bed. I grabbed the book and sat down next to his bed. I only got through five pages before I heard his heavy breathing. Once he was sleeping, I went to my Mom who was getting blankets for me to sleep on. If he wasn't sick, I would have slept in the guest room but since he was throwing up, I wanted to be near him in case he threw up again.

I didn't want to be cleaning vomit out of the carpet in the morning.

When I finally laid down, I listened to my son's heavy breathing and was relieved that he was able to sleep. Last time he was sick like this, he didn't sleep for two nights and neither did I. Since I was so damn tired from this weekend, I fell asleep immediately.


	9. I Don't Feel Right

**Chapter Nine: I Don't Feel Right**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"But...you've only been married for a month and a half?"

"I guess she got pregnant before the wedding then."

"So...she's pregnant?"

"She is."

"And you're the Dad?"

"I better be the Dad."

"You're having a baby?"

"Yes, Bella."

"Wow." I sighed as I looked at my very nervous best friend. "How's Carmen doing?"

"I'm assuming she's freaking out." Jake whispered as he took a sip of his coffee. He had just found the pregnancy test in the trash and ran straight over here. Carmen didn't even know he knew. "This obviously wasn't planned and we haven't really had the kid talk yet."

"Not even before you got married?" That was one of the first things Mike and I talked about.

"I mean we did talk about it, but never like when we'd have kids." He shrugged. "We both want them, but this is way too fucking soon, Bella. I'm not ready for this."

"You'll get there."

"How?" He questioned. "I mean...in like six months she's going to push a person out of her and we're going to be responsible for the rugrats well being."

"The baby's well being." I corrected. "Jake, you can do this. You and Carmen are great people..."

"Great people don't always make great parents." He huffed. His Mom was one of them. Sarah was hardly ever around when Jake was growing up, but Dad insisted she was a great person in general. When she walked out, it wasn't really a surprise to anyone but it crushed Jake who was only nine at the time. Billy thought it was for the best since her not being around only hurt Jake, but he didn't see it that way.

"Carmen is not your mother." I sighed. "And neither are you."

"What if we screw this kid up?"

"You won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because I'll be here and I won't allow that to happen." I slapped his arm.

"I'm gonna be a Dad."

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"You need to go home and talk to your wife."

"I don't know how." I put his face in his hands. "It's not like she told me herself..."

"You need to talk to Carmen." I nodded. "You need to find a way to bring it up."

"Her parents are going to kill me. They'll know she got pregnant before the wedding."

"You two were living together for six months before the wedding, what did they think you were doing?"

"Okay, they knew we were having sex but...her Dad scares me."

"Her Dad scares us all." I laughed. "Jake, go to the store, buy some sparkling cider and then have a romantic dinner with her."

"She'll know I know."

"Exactly, then you guys can talk without any awkwardness."

"Ugh, I hate when you're right." He rolled his eyes as he scooted away from the table. He wrapped me up in a tight hug and I felt a tear rolling down his cheek. I rubbed his back, trying to soothe him because I couldn't even imagine how scary this was for him. But, at least he knew Carmen wasn't going to bail like Edward's ex-wife did.

And I was still freaking thinking about Edward.

When Jake left, I looked through the applications Dad had sent me to choose from. He didn't like interviewing a whole lot of people, so he sent me his top fourteen choices and I was supposed to narrow it down to seven for him to interview. I knew Dad better than he knew himself sometimes, so I was happy to help him make this decision. Plus, I was getting kind of tired working in the store and wanted to get back to my office.

Once I had that done, I started making dinner. I knew Mike was working until close that Dad so I didn't bother making enough for both of us. I figured he could fend for himself for one night and I settled down on the couch, a glass of wine and Sleepless in Seattle on the TV. Once I was finished, I cleaned up my mess in the kitchen and grabbed the book I was reading. I was so engrossed in _The Color Purple_ , I didn't even here the front door open.

"Hey, is there a plate in the fridge?" Mike asked when he'd snuck up behind me. I was so startled by him that I threw the book at him and sprung off the couch. "Whoa, you okay?"

"You scared the shit out of me!" I puffed, trying to catch my breath.

"Sorry, baby." He smiled. "So, is there a plate?"

"No."

"No?"

"You're a big boy, Mike." I rolled my eyes. "You can cook yourself dinner."

"Yeesh, what's up your butt tonight?"

"Nothing, Mike! I was just a little busy and didn't feel like cooking for you."

"Do we have hamburger meat?" He asked, not pushing my buttons anymore.

"It's in the freezer and there's some frozen veggies in there too."

Mike and I spent the rest of the night in silence. I didn't know why I was so agitated at him, but he didn't push me about it. Sometimes, though, I liked the silence. Mike was always kind of distracting, even when we were watching TV. But, tonight, he was quiet as we watched reruns of _Full House_ and _Friends_. We went to bed with only just a gentle kiss and I rolled on my side away from him.

The next morning, Jake was at the store before we even opened. He was eager and pleased to tell me that dinner had worked last night. She ended up telling him she was pregnant before she even saw what he'd done for her in the kitchen. They talked for almost three hours about what they were going to do and if they would have to move. The obviously had a lot more to talk about and deal with, but they were in a good place and that's what mattered to me.

That afternoon, when I got home, Mike was sitting at the table on his computer. He hadn't bothered putting his contacts in and I had to smile. When we first met, he only had glasses and I always thought he was cuter with glasses than contacts. He looked up at me and gave me a tentative smile, unsure if I was going to snap at him like I did last night.

"I'm sorry for being so short with you last night."

"It's okay."

"It's not." I sat down next to him and he closed his laptop. "Carmen is pregnant."

"Already?"

"That's what I said." I laughed. "And so I was just worried about him and that worry turned into anger and I took it out on you. I shouldn't have."

"Hey, we're going to have bad nights." He whispered, making me feel better. No matter what other issues we had, Mike was always able to make me feel better after being super horrible to him. It usually happened when I was on my period, but it sometimes happened other times. Mike always seem to know what to say.

"Let's go out for dinner." I smiled.

"Can't."

"What? Why?"

"I'm applying for more jobs." He said. "And I have to turn these applications in tonight."

"Mike, really, Dad needs help with all the technical stuff..."

"No, Bella." He shook his head. "I'm not going to work for your father any longer than I have to."

"Well, what about freelance or something?" I really didn't want him applying anywhere other than Jacksonville and I knew that's what he was doing.

"Bells, no." He rolled his eyes. "I'm doing this and as my fiancé...you have to support me."

"I'm going to call Angela and see if she wants to go out." I didn't want to fight with him again, so I decided to just not deal with it. I knew that it was childish for me to ignore our problem, but it had been such a good day. Thankfully, Angela was able to go out with me since her boyfriend, Ben, was visiting his parents in Mississippi.

Angela and I met our senior year of high school when her parents dragged her to Jacksonville from Mississippi. Since I went to a relatively small high school, we had the same homeroom and I could tell how miserable she was right when I saw her. I couldn't imagine moving schools senior year, so I went over to her to just talk to her. We became friends instantly and we'd stayed friends ever since. I was thrilled when she called and said her boyfriend had been offered a job in St Augustine.

We met at one of our favorite restaurants in high school and once we were done, decided to live a little and headed to a nearby bar. I hadn't really been to a bar since college since it had never been Mike's thing and I realized how much I missed it. It wasn't like we were antisocial, but Mike and I tended to stay in. It was nice to be out and it was really nice to be out with someone other than Jake and Carmen.

"So, when is Ben ever going to ask you to marry him?" I asked as we sipped on our drinks. Her and Ben had been together since high school. They'd broken up at some point in college since they went to school, but realized they didn't want to be apart from each other and got back together six months after breaking up.

"I think...Christmas." She smiled. "He's been acting super weird and Mom is already making these giant plans for Christmas."

"How did that tip you off though?"

"We typically keep Christmas simple with just our immediate family." She explained. "But, Mom wants my family to be there as well as Ben's family."

"You'd better call me right away."

"I pinky swear." She giggled, taking another sip of her drink. "So. how's your wedding planning coming?"

"Oh...uh..."

"Bella?" I heard a familiar voice ask from behind me. I turned around and smiled when I saw Edward standing behind me with a huge dude next to him. "Hey,"

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"It's my brothers birthday." He explained. "Mom agreed to watch the kid."

"What a nice Mom." I giggled and felt this strange sense of missing my Mom in that moment. When I had kids, she'd never be able watch them if I ever wanted to go out for a night. I knew Dad would always be there to help, but I so wished my kids would know their grandmother.

"She's the best." He agreed.

"Oh, this is Angela. We went to high school together."

"It's nice to meet you." He smiled at Angela and then focused his eyes back on me. "Can I buy you a drink?"

"Another one?"

"I'm feeling generous." He winked. "What are you drinking?"

"A cosmo."

"Coming right up." He waved the bar tender and ordered me my next drink. Just as the bar tender handed me my drink, Angela's phone rang. She excused herself to go outside, leaving just Edward and I together since his brother had disappeared somewhere. There was an awkwardness that hadn't been there before since he'd tried to kiss me. I really didn't want things to be awkward because I really like Edward as a friend. I felt like I was able to just be open and honest with him and it was kind of like my relationship with Jake.

When Angela came back inside, she apologized profusely because she had to leave. Apparently Ben's father had a heart attack and she needed to find a way to get to Gulfport, Mississippi. I told her that it was fine and that I'd be okay, and that's whenEdward assured her he'd keep an eye on me. She gave me a tight hug and I made sure she knew that I was here if she needed anything.

"How old is your brother?" I asked when the two of us were alone. I didn't like that we needed small talk in order to make conversation, but anything was better than silence.

"Twenty-eight." I smiled.

"Damn, he's old." I laughed.

"I tell him that everyday."

"I wish I had siblings." I sighed.

"Why don't you?"

"My Mom didn't have the easiest pregnancy with me. Once I was here, they were so head over heels with me that they didn't want another baby." I shrugged. "I'm pretty sure though if her pregnancy wasn't so hard they would have had more kids."

"I love my siblings."

"You have more than Emmett?"

"When my Mom remarried, Emmett and I got a little sister." He said. "She's a year younger than me."

As the night went on, the awkwardness from the beginning of the night seemed to disappear. Edward found the two of us a table and when I told him to go spend time with his family, he refused. He told me that he got to see them everyday, and when Emmett was durnk he got super handsy with his wife. Edward had already seen enough groping when he ran into me.

It was so fun and so easy begin with Edward after the awkwardness dissipated. We talked about why I went into finance in school and why he'd wanted to be a doctor. We were able to talk more about our childhoods and he really listened when I told him about my mother's death. When he told me about his biological father's death, I was surprised that he talked about it with such ease. but, after he'd told me about what his father was like, I could understand why he was so okay with him dying.

And then, after a few more drinks, we both started to get flirty. I'd touch his arm like I touched Mike's when we first started dating. He looked so deep into my eyes it was like he could see through them. And, although I felt kind of guilty, I also loved it. Ever since we'd gotten engaged, Mike didn't seem to do the little things for me anymore. And...I really liked the attention Edward was giving me.

"So, do you have any tips to a first time Dad?" I asked after we'd ordered some food.

"You're not..."

"God, no." I shook my head.

"Who is?"

"My best friend, Jake." I explained. "I've known Jake for practically my entire life and if he could have, I would have been his best man at the wedding."

"First time advice? Hmmm..." He laughed. "Always buy too many diapers. Even if you think you won't use the jumbo box, you will. Always buy too many diapers."

"Did you run out?"

"Multiple times." He laughed. "And if she breastfeeds, make sure he gets up with her and then he can change the baby's diaper." He told me. "That's what Carlisle told me when we thought Lauren was going to stick around."

"Okay,"

"And, if he can avoid pacifiers, I would do it." He said. "They're a waist of money and Mason refused to give them up. I eventually had to just throw them away and he cried for two days when he couldn't find them anymore."

"My parents did that to me, but they had told me they sent them to the kids in Africa who needed them." I laughed. "I was sad, but I thought it was cool I got to help."

"I should have done that." He rolled his eyes. "I'll do that for the next kid."

"You want more kids?"

"I mean, if they're half as amazing as Mason, more kids wouldn't be bad."

"I can't wait to have kids."

"You'd be a good Mom."

"How do you know?"

"The way you seem to care about your Dad and your fiancé. Family seems really important to you."

"It is."

"Then you're one step ahead of a lot of people already." He told me and I blushed. No one, not even Mike, had said that I'd be a good Mom once I had kids.

Edward and I stayed until almost one in the morning. We just kept talking and we weren't paying attention to anything. If I had known Mike wouldn't be worried, I would have stayed at the bar with Edward all night long. But, I had to be up for work in the morning and I knew Mike was probably worried sick. I sent him a text, saying we'd lost track of time and got up to go get a cab.

"I'll walk you out." Edward winked. He walked me outside as I called the cab company. He waited for me on the sidewalk and he was standing so close to me I could smell his cologne. He smelled so fucking good, way better than Mike smelled. When the cab pulled up, he opened the door for me and I turned to face him. It was like I was having deja-vu or something because Edward leaned in to kiss me again, and this time...I let him.

His lips touched mine with such gentleness and I moaned into his mouth. He smelled like whiskey and cologne and that was a weirdly amazing scent. He gripped my hips with his hands and I wrapped my arms around my neck. He brushed his tongue against my bottom lip and I opened my mouth, letting him inside. But, eventually, I realized what I was doing was wrong and I pushed him away.

"Shit." He repeated. "I'm so sorry..."

"Don't apologize." I stopped him. "I...I let it happen."

"But..."

"Edward, I don't think we should see each other anymore." I blurted out. "I like you, but I love my fiancé."

"Right," He whispered, looking down at the ground.

"Oh, but don't let this come in the way of being a customer at the store." I was quick to say. Even though he hadn't come in the store physically in a while, he'd brought stuff online that Jake had packed up.

"I won't." He assured me.

"Thanks for the drinks." I said as I got into the cab. I told the driver where to go and it was almost impossible to not cry. I wasn't really sure why I was crying. Whether it was because I'd kissed someone else or because I'd made the decision not to see Edward again. Either way, I was upset and Mike would know it. When the cab pulled up in front of my building, I paid him his fee and headed upstairs. I took a few seconds to collect myself. When I opened the door, Mike was sitting at the table, reading a piece of mail.

"How was Angela?" He smiled when he saw me. "I know you told me not to wait up, but I had to make sure you got home okay."

"Thanks, babe." I nodded, sitting down next to him. "Umm, she's good. She thinks Ben is going to propose at Christmas."

"It's about fucking time." Mike laughed.

"What's that?"

"This is a job offer."

"Really? That's amazing!"

"Yeah, a company wants to hire me as one of their web designers."

"Babe, I told you you'd get a good job eventually." I leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Where's the company."

"Denver."

"Colorado?" He nodded. "Why'd you apply there?"

"They have two locations." He explained. "One is in Orlando and the other is in Denver."

"Then...why'd they hire you in Denver?"

"That;s where they need people."

"I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"Because...you can't take it."

"I...can't?"

"Mike..."

"Bella, I already told them I'd take the job."

"You did what?" I seethed.


	10. Breakable Thread

**Chapter Ten: Breakable Thread**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

I hadn't been to a bar in four years. Not since Mason was born, and if I were being honest, I hadn't really been to one since Lauren told me she was pregnant. She told me if she couldn't go out drinking with her friends, neither could I. And I respected her wishes and when Mason was born, I didn't have anytime to go out. I didn't really mind not being able to do things like this, but I was excited for Emmett's birthday party.

He'd told us that he wanted something low-key, but he still wanted to have a good time. Not really knowing exactly what that meant, I let Rosalie plan the evening and my parents agreed to take Mason for the night. We went to dinner with our parents and when Mason started getting cranky, they took him home.

"My oldest boy is all grown up." Mom gushed as Carlisle put Mason in his seat.

"Mom, I've been grown up for a while." Emmett laughed, wrapping Mom up in a bone crushing hug. "Plus, I don't think I'll ever fully be grown up."

"He's so right." Rosalie rolled her eyes as she got into Emmett's car. My brother may have been the oldest, but he certainly was not the most mature. We'd called him Peter growing up because no matter how old he got, he always acted like a kid.

Once I'd said goodbye to Mason, the five of us headed across town. Emmett had told us he'd been wanting to check out this new flashy bar, but once we got there he decided he was too old for it. We took a cab to another bar a few blocks over and this was definitely more our scene.

"Let's get trashed!" Emmett laughed after we'd gotten a table.

"Emmett," Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"Come on, if you get pregnant soon then we aren't going to be able to get trashed for like...eighteen years." Emmett was getting philosophical. "I mean, look at how lame Edward's life is."

"My life isn't lame." I defended, smacking him in the arm. "I wouldn't trade my life for the world." And that was the damn truth. If being there for my son made me lame, then I was proud to be lame.

"Yeah, yeah we all love Mason." I knew he'd had a few drinks at dinner, but he was really acting weird. I looked over at Jasper and Alice who were just snickering to themselves and I just went along with it. it wasn't my responsibility to take care of his drunk ass anymore. That was all Rosalie, which would be good practice when they did get pregnant.

I knew they'd been having a difficult time getting pregnant. They'd been married for two and a half years and I knew they'd been trying since before the wedding. Rosalie said that as long as she wasn't too pregnant before the wedding, she didn't care. They'd been together since they were both in school and the only reason they waited so long to get married was because of her parents. Emmett wanted them to be sure he could care for her, and he did. The only thing he couldn't seem to do was make a baby, but I knew it'd happen for them eventually. I mean, if I could get Lauren pregnant without even trying, Rosalie could absolutely get pregnant.

"I feel like I already have a baby." Rosalie grumbled.

"Let's get drinks!" Emmett clapped his hands together, flagging down the waitress. Since we all still lived in Jacksonville, I saw my brother and sister a lot. But, it hadn't been like this in so long where we could just talk and laugh without worrying about a filter. I loved Mason, but he made being a twenty-something kind of hard just because I couldn't always say what I wanted to say. I really loved getting to spend some real time with my siblings and I hoped none of them would move very far away.

I mean, we were pretty well set in our careers here and I didn't see anyone moving soon. Emmett and I both worked for Dad and we'd always have a job there if we wanted. Jasper worked for a small psychology practice and Alice was working at a local magazine as their fashion manager. Rosalie was the only one of us that would probably be able to move with her job, but I knew she was happy being close to our family. I was really lucky to still seeing my family almost everyday and working with my Dad and brother on top of that.

"When are you planning on proposing to her?" I asked Jasper after the girls had gone to the bathroom. When Alice met Jasper, he was this shy, nerdy kid. I mean, he still was both of those things but he'd come a long way since she brought him home to meet the family. They'd been together for almost three years and I knew how much he loved her. I didn't know why he was still waiting.

"I don't know." He shrugged, taking a drink. "I mean...is it too soon?"

"Jazz, I proposed to Rosalie after only dating her for a year."

"And she turned you down." I laughed. "And you were drunk."

"Right." He laughed. He was so buzzed right now.

"You love my sister, right?"

"Our sister!" Emmett piped in.

"Right, you love our little sister, right?"

"Of course I do."

"And she's crazy about you." I smiled. "Don't be afraid that she'll say no and you'll lose her."

"That's not why I'm..."

"Jasper, we know you." Emmett spoke. "And you're a terrible liar."

"I've been thinking about it for a while." He finally admitted. "I just...I need some help."

"Don't ask Emmett for help in how to propose."

"Hey, at least I'm still married."

"Ouch, dude." I shoved him. "I just mean, I know Alie better than Emmett does."

"You do not!"

"I was actually going to ask your Dad for help." He rolled his eyes. "But, thanks."

"Thanks for what?" Alice asked, plopping herself down next to Jasper. Thank God we weren't still talking about him proposing. Alice was like a ninja sometimes, you barely ever knew she was there until she scared the shit out of you.

"The drinks." I said. "I was just gonna go get us some."

"Let's go to the bar!" Emmett hollard, standing up. I rolled my eyes as I followed him up the bar and stopped breathing when I saw Bella sitting on one of the stools. I mean, she had her back towards me, but I could see her engagement ring. That was definitely her.

"Bella?" I asked and my knees practically buckled when she turned around. "Hey,"

"What are you doing here?" She smiled.

"It's my brothers birthday. Mom agreed to watch the kid." Why was I telling her that? Did I think she was going to think I'd just left Mason alone while I bar hopped?

"What a nice Mom."

"She's the best." I nodded and pushed Emmett away when he grabbed my shoulder.

"Oh, this is Angela. We went to high school together."

"It's nice to meet you. Can I buy you a drink?"

"Another one?"

"I'm feeling generous." I winked. Why did I keep fucking winking at her? She was engaged and that was definitely way too flirty. Ugh. I was so fucking screwed. "What are you drinking?"

"A cosmo."

"Coming right up." I ordered her the drink and we talked with her friend for a little bit. Emmett must have gotten bored at some point and went back to the table, but I was okay with that. I was also okay when her friend said that she had to leave due to a family emergency. I promised her that I'd take care of Bella and with that, she was gone, Leaving Bella and I alone.

Bella and I found a table after a few minutes and sat down together. We spent most of the time talking about our families and I loved getting to know her. She was so easy to talk to and it was almost like I'd known her forever. The only other girl I was able to talk to like this was Alice, and that was because she was my sister. Not that I thought of Bella like a sister, but she was just a genuine person like Alice.

"So, do you have any tips to a first time Dad?" I nearly choked on my drink.

"You're not..." I really, really hoped she wasn't pregnant. As dumb as it sounded, if she was pregnant she was deinfaltey marrying that guy. I barely knew her, but I could kind of tell how unsure she was about her fiancé. I still felt like I had a chance, but if she was having a baby, I'd never have that chance.

"God, no." I sighed in relief.

"Who is?"

"My best friend, Jake." I explained. "I've known Jake for practically my entire life and if he could have, I would have been his best man at the wedding."

"First time advice? Hmmm..." I thought back to when Mason was born and laughed when I remembered the time I ran out of diapers. I told her that he should always buy the jumbo box of diapers and to not use a pacifier. It was a tragic day when Mason had to say goodbye to all of his and if he wasn't two, he probably wouldn't have talked to me for the rest of the day. From then, we talked more about her childhood and how she wished she had siblings. I had no idea what I'd do if I were an only child, so I was glad my Mom's pregnancy with Emmett was smooth.

"I'll walk you out." I told her once I looked at my watch. It was already one in the morning and my friends had left hours ago. I walked her outside of the bar and hailed a cab for her. When the cab finally pulled over, I opened the door for her and it felt like it had when we were at the coffee shop a little big ago. Without even thinking, I started leaning into her.

This time, though, she didn't stop me. I gently pressed my lips to hers and she moaned into my mouth. She was so fucking soft and perfect and my entire mind went blank at that moment. I gripped her hips and pulled her close to me while she wrapped one arm around my neck. God, she was a good kisser and I couldn't stop myself from running my tongue along her bottom lip. Like a reflex, she opened her mouth and let me inside. I didn't know how long we'd been standing there, but eventually she pushed me away.

Fuck, she was engaged. That was not smart at all.

"Shit. I'm so sorry..."

"Don't apologize." She shook her head. "I...I let it happen."

"But..." I argued

"Edward, I don't think we should see each other anymore." Ouch. That fucking hurt more than Lauren walking out on us. And that hurt a lot. "I like you, but I love my fiancé."

"Right," I looked down at my shoe and kicked an invisible rock.

"Oh, but don't let this come in the way of being a customer at the store." That's what she was worried about?

"I won't."

"Thanks for the drinks." She hurried and got into the cab and I watched as she drove away. Well, I'd just ruined one of the best friendships I'd ever had and I felt like such a fucking moron. Of course her fiancé came first. No matter how close we might have gotten since meeting, her fiancé was the love of her life...or at least he should have been. But, Bella didn't seem like a girl who would marry someone she didn't love.

Would she?

The next morning, Mom was over bright and early with Mason since they had something to do before going over to the house. I didn't realize how much I'd drank until my head was pounding as Mason went on and on about the movie they'd watched last night. It was a movie he'd seen before, but he still couldn't stop talking about how Buzz and Woody escaped the day care center.

I really regretted those last two whiskey's right now.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Mason asked, placing his tiny hand on my cheek. We'd been watching a movie and I was having a hard time staying awake for The Lion King for the tenth time that week. Whatever Mason was interested in that week, we watched a movie on that topic. The a few weeks ago, it was Legos and now it was jungle animals. I loved my son, but if I never had to watch The Lion King again I'd be happy.

"My head doesn't feel good."

"I'll get water." He smiled as he slid down off the couch. I slowly stood up and followed him into the kitchen. He got his cup off the table and got the stool out, putting it in front of the sink. He reached for the spicket and turned on the water and it sprayed everywhere though. He laughed as he filled his cup up and then turned everything off. He got down and waddled over to me, and handed me the cup.

"Drink this." He ordered and I took the cup from him. The water tasted like orange juice since that's what he'd had in his cup earlier, but he was watching me. If I didn't drink all the water, he'd be upset with me so I just sucked it up and finished it.

"Delicious." I sighed. "And refreshing!"

"Are we gonna go to da house today?" He asked as I rinsed out his cup and poured some water in it for him. I screwed the lid on and handed it back to him. I really didn't want to go work on the house today, but I had to. I had a schedule made up and I really didn't want to get too far behind.

"Yeah, bud." I nodded. "We're gonna go over there once Grandpa is done with whatever he's doing with Grandma."

"Yay!" He giggled, taking a sip of his drink and walking back into the living room.

Since Mom had meetings all day and both Alice and Rosalie were taking care of their men, Mason had to come with us. I was glad that the task for that day was to start restoring the original hardware so I'd be able to keep an eye on him while we sanded everything down. He packed his bag with toys and we headed over to the house after we'd eaten lunch.

"You okay, Edward?" Carlisle asked after I'd gotten Mason situated.

"Yeah," I lied and he knew I'd lied. He knew me better than Mom did sometimes, and that was saying something considering Mom knew what I was going to do it before it happened.

"You're just like Jasper."

"Huh?"

"You're a terrible liar." He laughed.

"I just, did something really stupid last night and...I shouldn't have done it."

"You didn't sleep with some stranger, did you?"

"No." I assured him. "I kissed someone."

"That's not stupid."

"I kissed someone who's engaged and I knew she was engaged."

"Edward." He groaned.

"We'd been drinking and I've just been attracted to her ever since we met and I just...I couldn't help myself." I admitted. "And it was just a kiss. She told me we shouldn't see each other anymore."

"Huh,"

"What?"

"Well, her telling you that you two shouldn't see each other anymore makes me think."

"About?"

"If she didn't feel anything towards you, she probably wouldn't have told you to stay away."

"Dad, this is hard enough."

"Just something to think about."

"I'm not going to ruin her engagement!"

"I'm not saying you should." He shrugged. "I'm just saying that she's probably confused right now."

Of course, because this situation wasn't confusing enough. Now my Dad was telling me Bella probably had feelings for me too and that I could possibly be with her? None of this made sense which was the reason I'd solely devoted my life to Mason. Mason wasn't confusing. He didn't send off mixed signals and always told me exactly what he'd wanted. Being a Dad was easy compared to this. Once I got the hang of it, I was good. But this...relationships and girls were probably something I'd never really understand.

Not since Lauren left.

Once Dad and I were done, I took Mason home and fed him dinner. Just after I'd gotten him dressed after his bath, there was a loud knock on the door. I put Mason in his room and told him to pick out a book to read. I went to the door and was really happy to see my little sister. She was my best friend and I really needed my best friend right now. After telling her I'd be out after putting Mason to bed, I went into read to him.

"Daddy?" He spoke softly as I pulled the covers up over his head.

"Yes, Mason?"

"Why don't I have a Mommy?" My eyes bugged so far out of my head I thought they were going to fall out. "All my friends have Mommy's."

"Where is this coming from, buddy?"

"Luke's Mommy gets him everyday and hugs and kisses him." He shrugged. "Why don't I have a Mommy to hug and kiss me?"

"Am I not good enough?" I laughed, but he didn't understand my joke. "Well, Mason, this is something that we can talk about. But, not right now."

"When?" Damn, my son was persistent.

"Eventually." I promised, bending down and kissing his cheek. I turned on his nightlight and walked out of his room. This wasn't the first time Mason had mentioned not having a Mom, but he usually forgot about it once I changed the subject. This time, however, I didn't think he'd be so quick to forget and that killed me.

How was I supposed to be honest with my son without completely crushing him? These were the moments I hated Lauren the most. She hadn't even bothered to stay and get to know him. She just left without ever looking back. When she did leave, I thought I would hear from her a few months later, wanting to know how her son was doing. But, she never called and I wondered if she even remembered she had a son.

"You haven't had a very good day, have you?" Alice asked as I grabbed a beer.

"What gave you that idea?" I barked, and she backed away from me. "Sorry, it's just been a real shitty day and to top it all off..." I trailed off. "Mason just asked me why he doesn't have a mommy."

"Hasn't he asked that before?"

"When he was little, he'd forget about the subject if I promised to talk about it later." I explained. "I don't think he's going to forget this time."

"Don't worry about it until you have to."

"It's not that simple, Alice."

"Nothing about this has ever been simple." She reminded me. "But, you're a good Dad. You'll figure out a way to tell him."

"I feel like I should just tell him she's dead."

"Why don't you?"

"That's lying."

"So telling him that his mother didn't want him is better?"

"What if one day she comes back and he figures out that I obviously lied to him?"

"She hasn't come back yet, Edward."

"That doesn't mean she never will. If you want to lie to your children one day, go for it. But I'm not telling my son his mother is dead."

"She may as well be." Alice snorted. "But, something else happened."

"How'd you know?"

"I know you better than anyone." She rolled her eyes. "Spill."

So, I told Alice everything that had happened with Bella. From meeting her in the hardware store to kissing her last night. And, she didn't interrupt me and try to judge me. She just sat and listened and rubbed my back. That's what I loved most about my little sister. She was always willing to listen and when it was important, never spoke until she was asked to say something.

"So?" I asked once I was done telling her everything that had happened.

"I think you've got major feelings for her, Edward." She whispered. "And that's okay, but I also think it is best if you stay away from her."

"She's my friend."

"But, if you don't stay away like she asked...you're going to complicate things." I felt like she was telling me the exact opposite of what Dad had said. "And, you're just going to end up hurt. As much as you claimed to hate Lauren, you were absolutely crushed when she left."

"Of course I was! She left our son."

"She left you too, Edward." She whispered. "And you two were married."

"Out of obligation."

"True, but that didn't mean you didn't have any feelings for her what so ever. I remember when you guys started dating and you were head over heals for her."

"Yeah, well..." I sighed, looking at the picture of Mason and I on the TV stand. "That was before I knocked her up and changed our entire world."


	11. I Hate That I Love You

**Chapter Eleven: I Hate That I Love You**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"Mike..."

"Bella, I already told them I'd take the job."

Ummm, what the fuck?

"You did what?" I screamed. "How could you do that without even talking to me about it, Mike!"

"I knew what you'd say!"

"So you thought I was just going to move across the fucking country with you?" I had never been so angry in my entire life. What the hell was he thinking? "Are you on drugs or something?"

"Real nice, Bella." He rolled his eyes.

"Oh no. You don't get to be pissed at me right now. We agreed to stay in Florida!"

"I know and then I got the perfect job offer!"

"What am I supposed to do, Mike?" I asked. "Say, _'hey Dad, I know I'm all you have left but we moving to Denver. See you at Christmas.'_ I mean, come on."

"Bella, this job will be so good for us and our future!"

"Please, tell me more!"

"Well, they're paying me almost double what you're making working for your Dad."

"I make plenty working for Dad."

"But, I'll make more."

"So you want the job so you can reclaim your manhood by making more than me?"

"Fuck! No, Bella! I want the job because I don't want to be a fucking clerk for my entire life!" He yelled. "I'm not Jake! I actually care what I do."

"Jake has nothing to do with this." I rolled my eyes. "Unless you're still hooked on the fact that we're hooking up behind your back even though he's married with a kid on the way."

"I never thought that."

"What would you do if I told you Jake and I did do it in high school?"

"You did not." We didn't, but I really enjoyed seeing Mike turn that dark shade of red.

"No, we didn't. I'm not digesting and think having sex with your family members is gross." I laughed. "You're pathetic."

"I'm pathetic?" He sneered. "Your'e the one too fucking scared to leave Daddy and be without a guy in your life."

"Excuse me?"

"You've never been without a guy before. Don't you find that sad?"

"That literally has nothing to do with what we're fighting about, Mike." I laughed. "If you're going to fight with me, you might as well do it right."

"It's fucking pathetic that you didn't even bother trying to make it on your own." He shouted. "You went right back to daddy once you were done with college. You didn't even bother looking for a real job."

"I have a real job!"

"Okay, I'll rephrase it. You didn't even bother looking for a real job that you could get on your own because you're qualified."

"I'm plenty qualified for this job."

"Yeah, you are. You're over qualified."

"We're not moving to Denver!"

"Yes we are!" He shook his head.

"No...we're not." I was so angry I couldn't even yell at him. "You're going to call that company and tell them that you can't take the job."

"No, I'm not."

"Mike!" I yelled, my blood was broiling. "I'm going to sleep at Jake's tonight." I was too pissed off to even continue looking at him. I turned to leave, but I couldn't just leave like this. "Oh, and Mike?"

"What?"

"Fuck. You." I slammed the door shut and made my way down to the street.

Realizing I was still drunk and couldn't drive, I called Jake. He was pissed that I'd woken him up, but he was at my house in a heartbeat. When I got in the car, I told him I wasn't ready to talk about it and he respected that. We pulled up in front of their small house they'd just moved in to and he apologized for making me sleep on the couch. I was so damn tired though, it didn't matter.

When I woke up the next morning, I knew Jake wanted to know what happened. I always told him everything, but I just didn't want to talk about it yet. I felt like my engagement was over and I wasn't ready for that conversation. Mike seemed pretty set on Denver and I wasn't leaving Florida. I mean, I totally get that he didn't want to stay at the store forever, but we'd come up with a compromise. We were going to make it work, but that didn't seem to matter to him. Carmen and Jake tried to keep my preoccupied with baby talk, but I so wasn't in the mood.

Jake drove me home so I could change for work that morning. Thankfully, Mike wasn't there and I was even able to shower. Since I really didn't want to be alone yet, Jake was patient enough to wait for me, and drove me to the store even though he wasn't working that morning. But, I knew who was working and I was going to have to see him. I just hoped I wouldn't want to rip his head off when I did see him.

"Hi, baby." Dad greeted as I walked into the store. "You okay? You look tired?"

"I went out with Angela last night." I couldn't tell my Dad about the fight. Not yet anyway. Even though we were still together, Dad would definitely say I told you so and beat Mike up. I just wanted to wait until we got home for whatever was going to happen.

But, when I did see him, I couldn't help myself. I followed him to the back of the store and closed the door behind me. He stood, facing me with his arms crossed over his chest. Neither of us wanted to talk first, so I decided to take the first step.

This was going to suck no matter what.

"How could you do that behind my back?" I asked. I wasn't yelling, but I needed to know.

"I need more than just being a clerk."

"And I know that!" I raised my voice. "But Colorado, Mike?"

"I can't do this. Not now and definitely not here."

"Mike!"

"Maybe you're okay with being a fucking clerk for your entire life and not making anything of yourself, but I'm not." Ouch. That was a low blow and that hurt. He knew I was only working in the front of the store for a little bit longer.

"That's not..."

"Yes it is, Bella." He shook his head. "Just because you're afraid of everything doesn't mean I have to be." He stormed out of the back and I chased after him.

"Where are you going?"

"Home."

"It's not the end of your shift!"

"Yeah, well I quit!" He shouted, removing his apron and throwing it at me. "I have to make plans for Denver." He stormed out of the store, and slammed the front door shut. I cringed as I heard the small bell fall to the ground and I couldn't help it when the tears starting to flow. I went behind the counter and sat down on the stool, praying that Dad wouldn't come downstairs. Thankfully, everyone else was on their lunch break and there weren't any customers in the store.

I put my face in my hands and just sobbed. I cried for the time I felt like I'd wasted and the feelings that apparently didn't mean anything. I cried for all of the good times that we'd had together that were complete crap now. I cried that we couldn't work things out like I was so desperate for.

I was so absorbed in my feelings, I didn't even here the store door open.

"Bella?" I heard Edward's comforting voice ask. I shot my head up and started crying even harder. He was the kind of man that I wanted and the kind of man Mike never was. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I shook my head. This was really unprofessional. "What do you need?"

"What's wrong?" He pushed.

"Mike and I had a fight."

"People fight."

"No, it was the fight."

"Can I ask..."

"He got offered a job in Denver." I cried. "And we compromised that we'd at least stay in Florida because of my Dad, and he took the job without even talking to me about it."

"What a dick." Even with how upset I was, he still made me laugh. "Are you still...together."

"For right now." I cried. I did love Mike and this was heartbreaking. We might not have had an epic love story, but I did love him. And I did want to marry him, but...not like this. If we got married, all I could picture was us fighting about work and neither of us would be happy. "You came into the store for something, so please let me help you."

"I need some paint swatches for outside." He bit his lip. "I can..."

"It's my job." I stopped him, getting off the stool. I led him over to the paint and told him which swatches were for outdoor painting. I left him looking at the paint and went into the break room. I contemplated telling Dad I needed to go home, but I knew Mike was at home. I couldn't deal with him yet so I decided to just call Jake. Once I was done, Edward was back at the counters with swatches in his hand.

"I think I'm gonna show these to my sister and see what she says." He smiled. I nodded and he brought his thumb to my chin. He made me look up at him and I'd never noticed how green his eyes really were. "You're gonna get through this."

"Yeah," I nodded. Just as Edward left, Jake texted me that he was out front. I didn't dare go upstairs to tell Dad I was leaving for a bit, so I just ended up teeing him. Jake drove us to the spot we always went to when we were kids and needed to vent or cry or hit things.

"Are you going to say anything..."

"I think Mike and I are done."

"What?"

"We had a fight."

"I fight with Carmen all the time."

"It wasn't just a fight, Jake." I shrugged. "It was a fight that brought out ugly colors in both of us. It was a fight that showed me that his career was always going to come first and I'd always be second."

"Oh,"

"It was a fight that showed me that he's a selfish person. I knew he wanted a career and being a clerk wasn't enough for him, but I never thought he'd stoop that low."

"What'd he do?"

"He accepted a job offer in Denver after we'd agreed to stay in Florida." I shook my head. "I mean, I don't want to levee Jacksonville and that's why we said we'd at least stay in Florida for Dad...for our life we have here."

"He was never good enough for you, Bella."

"I just thought I was the exception." I cried. "I thought I was enough for him to take a step back and think. I was _so_ wrong."

"You were in love."

"You know, people always asked me why I was in love with him and I could never explain it." I said, looking out to the ocean. "But I never questioned my feelings for him."

"And now?"

"And now I can't even remember why I said yes to going on our first date."

"It'll work out."

"I don't know if I want it to, Jake."

"I mean it'll work out for you, Bells." He wrapped his arm around me. "You're better off without him."

"I wished I would have known this months ago."

"Trust me...I wished you would have known too."

"You do?"

"You're hurting now and I don't like that he did this to you."

"Please don't beat him up."

"I'm not making any promises."

"Jake?"

'Bella?"

"I need to eat something before I go back to work."

"Let's go get a hotdog."

"Oooo, with cheese."

"Gross." He laughed as we stood up.

Work was busy for the rest of the afternoon and it was a good distraction. I avoided my Dad as much as possible, and when it was time for me to clock out, I was thankful. I picked up dinner for myself from my favorite Italian place and headed back to our apartment. Mike's truck wasn't in the parking lot and I sighed in relief. I just wanted to eat and drink some wine before we went at it for the third time in a matter of seventeen hours.

Just after ten, I heard keys juggling in the lock. I poured myself one more glass of wine and chugged it. I knew alcohol wasn't the solution, but it was still going to make this conversation easier. When Mike walked inside, he gave me a sad smile and turned to walk towards our bedroom. I was going to just let him be, but when I saw red cloth peaking out of his back pockets, I called his name.

"I'm tired, Bella." He groaned as I made my way over to him. I didn't bother asking him about it and I snatched the cloth out of his pocket. My hands started trembling when I realized it was a skimpy, red thong. "Shit," His face was white as a ghost and I felt like I was going to throw up.

Mike had cheated on me.

"You're...you're cheating on me?"

"Bella..."

"Is this a new thing or has it been going on for a while."

"I was pissed off."

"Maybe she'll want to go to Denver with you." I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my cheek as I threw the underwear at him. "You fucking cheated on me, Mike!"

"I'm sorry!" He cried. "I was pisssed when I left the store and..."

"Who was it?"

"Bella,"

"Who the fuck was it, Mike?" I repeated. "Do I know her? Is that why you won't say who?"

"It was Bree."

"Our neighbor?" Now I really wanted to throw up. "You fucked our neighbor? Oh my God, Mike!"

"We ran into each other in the hallway after I'd driven around for a while." I didn't know why I was listening to this. "And she just broke up with her boyfriend and I was pissed about our fight and when she invited me inside for a drink...I shouldn't have gone inside."

"We're done." I croaked out, taking my ring off and throwing it at him. "We are so done."

"Bella, please."

"Do you really think I want to marry you now?" I asked. "You just had your tiny dick in some other girls pussy! Just fucking go to Denver and never come back."

"Can't we talk about this?"

"I want your crap out of this apartment by next weekend." I grabbed my keys and ran out of the apartment. I never thought Mike would be someone to cheat on me. Even during our worst fights before all of this, I always trusted him. But now, I couldn't help but thinking of all the women he'd probably fucked when we fought. I'd never felt like such a damn fool than in that moment.

I tried calling Jake, but by the third time if went to voicemail I knew it was pointless. I called a cab and told him to just take me downtown. I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going, but I wanted to go as far away from Mike as I could. Once I got to the bar, I order myself a pretty strong drink and chugged it. After the third drink, I was definitely feeling it and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I was going to call Mike and yell at him, but when I saw Edward's name I thought that was so much better.

"Hello?"

"You're a really good kisser. Did you know that?" I slurred as I giggled like an idiot.

"Bella?"

"Who else? Anyway, you're a fantastic kisser and we should do that again."

"Bella, where are you?"

"Some bar downtown." I shrugged. I looked down at the napkin and giggled for some reason. " _Sidecar_."

"Bella, stop ordering drinks and tell me where you are?"

"That's the name of the bar, silly Edward." I laughed into the phone. "Ooo, but a sidecar sounds delightful right now."

"Bella!" I heard him call as I ended the call. "I ordered myself another drink, which was gone by the time I saw Edward walking inside.

"Eddie!" I called out and threw my arms around his neck. "Where's your child?"

"With his aunt and uncle." He smiled. "What are you doing?"

"I'm drinking." I smiled. "Wanna join?"

"I drove."

"Boo, you're no fun."

"Come on, let's get you home."

"No!" I cried. "Mike is there and I'm a big girl. I don't have to do what you tell me to."

"Let's at least get some food in you." He sighed as he helped me walk over to one of the tables. He sat me down and ordered us some food and a water for me to dinrk.

"You're probably really good in bed." I smiled up at him as he helped me walk outside after he'd cut me off.

"What?"

"I mean you have a kid, so you're probably fantastic in bed." I said again. "Or, you're really bad which is why your wife left."

"Okay, we need to get you home."

"Edward," I moaned as I placed a sloppy kiss on his lips. This kiss wasn't as nice as the last one had been, but that was probably because I was so fucking drunk.

"Bella, no. You're engaged."

"Not anymore!" I sang, holding up my bare ring finger. "So, come on. I know you wanna do it so lets just...fuck."

"No," He shook my head.

"You don't want me?"

"I do." He groaned. "But, not like this. Not when you're drunk and right after you called off your engagement."

"Come on, we could..." I wasn't even able to finish my sentence before I turned around and puked into the bushes.

Fucking fantastic.

Edward was kind enough to hold my hair back for me until I was done. He then picked me up, bridal style, and carried me to his car.

"This is a nice car." I smiled as he buckled me in.

"Thanks." He winked as he shut his door and ran around to the other side. "Where am I taking you?"

"Not my apartment. Mike is there."

"Oh, well..." He turned the key in the ignition and put the car into drive. "Guess we're gonna have to figure something else out."

"You're such a nice guy." I mumbled and then I was out.


	12. I Can't React

**Chapter Twelve: I Can't React**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

This was not what I had in mind when I pictured my first night spent with Bella. Even though I shouldn't have, I had thought about our first night together a lot. It definitely was not supposed to be her passed out drunk after throwing up for half the night. When I picked her up at the bar last night, I didn't really foresee this happening and I knew I should have taken her home when I got there.

But, she was so damn cute when she looked up at me with her beautiful brown eyes. I was a father for goodness sake. I was actually pretty good at saying no to someone even when I didn't really want to. I'd said no to Mason hundreds of times, but one look from Bella and I gave in. She really was going to be the death of me and she wasn't even mine.

Once I got Bella back to my apartment, I took her straight to the bathroom. I sat with her and held her hair back, making sure she had plenty of water to drink. I did the best I could, but she ended up getting it all over herself. I was just really thankful Rosalie and Emmett wanted to have a sleepover with Mason the night before. I did not want to be bringing home random girls to begin with and I really didn't want to be bringing home drunk girls. Once she was finished throwing up, I gave her one of my t-shirts and a pair of my boxers so I could put her clothes in the wash.

My couch was not comfortable enough to sleep on, so once she'd passed out I crawled into my bed next to her. She was kind of cute when she was this disheveled and I only wondered what Mike had done to her to push her to drink like this. I fell asleep with a smile on my face for the first time in a long time and slept like a rock. Once the sun started shining in my window the next morning, I went out to the kitchen to make some coffee. I grabbed a big glass of water as well as some Aspirin and put it on her bedside table. I went back out to pour our coffee and made some toast if she was up for eating anything yet.

Once I had everything together, I put it on a small tray and carried it back to my bedroom. I smiled when I saw her laying on her stomach with one eye open, looking super confused. I put the tray on my dresser and went over to see her.

"Good morning." I smiled.

"Why are you screaming?"

"I'm not screaming." I whispered.

"Edward...did we..." Her eyes widened

"No." I shook my head. "We didn't do anything."

"Then where are my clothes?"

"You got super sick last night when we got back here." I explained. "You puked all over your clothes so I gave you one of my shirts and put your stuff in the wash."

"Am...am I wearing pants?"

"I gave you a pair of my boxers." I smiled.

"Oh...my God." She hid her face. "I am so so so sorry."

"You don't need to apologize."

"I'm so embarrassed!"

"It's fine."

"This is not what I wanted to happen." She dug her face into her pillow. She let out a loud groan before looking back up at me. "Did I...Edward did I throw myself at you?"

"You did."

"God," She put her pillow over her face. "I cannot believe this happened. I can't believe you spent the night taking care of me when you already have a kid..." She rolled over onto her back. "Where _is_ Mason?"

"He had a sleepover with my brother last night."

"So, you spent your night off taking care of my drunk ass."

"Hey, I'm a Dad." I laughed. "It's kind of my job to take care of people." I was trying to make light of the situation, but she wasn't really buying it. "It really isn't a big deal."

"I'm really sorry I called you."

"I'm glad you did."

"Why?"

"Because, I knew you were safe when you were with me." I explained. "Bella, you were so ready for a revenge fuck and I'm pretty sure if I wasn't there, you would have hooked up with some random guy."

"Oh,"

"Bella, what happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"With Mike."

"Oh," She whispered, sitting up. "Well, things escalated when I got home yesterday. When I got home, he was gone. I was ready to just talk to him, but when he got home I found someone else's red thong in his back pocket."

I wanted to kill him for hurting her like that. I hadn't known her for very long, but she was one of the nicest people I'd ever met. I hated that he was able to do this much damage. I wanted to kill him and I'd never even met the guy before.

"What a fucker."

"He was off screwing our neighbor all day while I cried over our finished relationship." I could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "He said that she'd just broken up with her boyfriend and he was pissed at me. He said he should never have gone inside...but he didn't apologize for what he did."

"So you went to get drunk?"

"I wasn't intending to get that drunk." She defended. "I just...I just wanted a nice buzz so I wasn't pissed off all night."

"Why'd you call me? Why not your friend Jake?"

"Jake is married and has his life with Carmen." I shrugged. "He didn't pick up the first few times I called and I figured he was busy. I didn't want to bother him."

"Well, I am glad you called." I said, pushing her hair out of her face. "I made coffee." I changed the subject. The last thing I wanted to talk about after the divorce was Lauren. I understood the need to just find any way to avoid the topic and I wasn't going to let her dwell on what happened last night.

"Yes! Oh my God, I think I love you." I knew she was saying that because I'd made her coffee, but it still made my heart stop for just a second. I went over to my dresser and picked up one of the mugs and handed it to her. She spent a few minutes drinking her coffee and she looked a lot better already after getting something back in her.

"You hungry?"

"Fucking starving."

"You want waffles?" I asked. "Homemade waffles?"

"You cook?"

"I had to learn when I became a Dad. I grew up on homemade meals and I wasn't about to let Mason live off of frozen foods." I told her as she got out of bed. "I was aplnning on making waffles for Mason this weekend because he's been begging for them for weeks."

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Where did you sleep last night?"

"In bed with you."

"Not how I pictured our first night together." She mumbled.

"What?" she looked up at me and shrugged.

"Nothing."

Bella and I spent the rest of the morning together, making breakfast and talking. Bella told me more about her relationship with Mike and when she was done, I was kind of confused at why she was with him in the first place. He seemed super selfish and willing to do whatever it took to get what he wanted. I didn't get that vibe from Bella at all. She seemed so giving and wanting to help people. They were totally opposite people and I guess opposites don't always attract. Once we were done with breakfast, I told her to go get dressed while I cleaned everything up.

Not wanting to go back to her apartment, I drove her to Jake's house. We sat out front for a little bit and I patiently listened while she cried about how telling Jake meant things were over. I could understand her pain. No matter how much I hated Lauren at the end, I did love her when I found out she was pregnant. I did marry her out of obligation, but it didn't make it any easier signing those divorce papers.

"Thanks again for taking care of me last night." She whispered as she opened her door. "And for not letting me jump your bones."

"I would never take advantage of you like that."

"Yeah, well, most guys would have."

"I'm not most guys."

"I'll see you later, Edward." She got out of the car and slammed the door shut. After she was inside, I made my way across town to Emmett's house. When I got there, he was playing some game with Mason while Rosalie did some work on her computer. As I watched him with my son, I realized just how good of a Dad my brother was going to be. After promising to tell him what happened last night, I grabbed Mason and we made our way over to the house.

Mason watched me intently as I rebricked the fire place and asked a million questions. Most of the questions he asked were repeats, but I loved having these moments with him. I hoped when he was a teenager, he'd want to come work with us in the summer. I admit, I wanted more for him than I had. I wanted him to graduate college and start a career. It wasn't that I didn't think working as a contractor was unsuccessful, but before he came along, I had different plans than. I had different dreams and I wanted him to always be able to follow his dreams.

The house was coming together a lot faster than I would have thought. We were well on our way to finishing it since I had the electrician and plumber coming within the next two weeks. After they were finished, there were only few small things left to do before painting and furnishing. I figured I was going to have to sell our apartment before moving out, so I set up a meeting with a realtor to start things up.

"I'm hungry." Mason complained as we left the house.

"We're going to have dinner when we get home, bud."

"Waffles?"

"No." I laughed. I had no idea where his obsession for waffles came from, but I was sure he would eat them for every meal if I let him. "We're having hot dogs."

"With french fries?"

"Yep." I didn't particularly love feeding him junk, but Mom had recently found great organic fries at the supermarket. Normally, we'd be having a veggie with the hot dogs, but I thought I'd let him have a treat.

"Can we have desert?"

"Maybe if you're good eating your dinner."

Once we got home, I sent Alice a quick text asking if they'd like to join us for dinner. I really needed to talk to Jasper about Bella and I knew my sister hadn't seen Mason all week. She told me they'd be there and I prepped food for four and a half people instead of just the two of us. Once they got to our apartment, Jasper followed me outside to the grill while Alice played with her nephew.

"What's up?"

"You remember me telling you about Bella?" He nodded. "Well, she broke up with her fiancé last night."

"Don't you think you're moving just a tad too quick?"

"I wasn't planning on asking her out tonight." I rolled my eyes. "But...do you think it would be a mistake if I asked her out?"

"Do you know how many times I thought about asking Alice out and played every situation in my head?"

"A lot?"

"Too many times." He laughed. "I'm pretty sure if I would have waited longer, I would have missed my shot."

"What does this have to do with me?"

"I'm just saying, if you like her you might as well go for it." He clapped me on the back. "And if she says no, you can move on."

"This is so screwed up." I groaned. "I was doing just fine before Mom told me to retile my fucking bathroom."

"What does that have to do with Bella?"

"She works at the hardware store I got some of the supplies from. And now, I can't get her out of my head."

"That's a good thing, Edward." He whispered. "Not everyone is going to screw you over like Lauren did."

"Lauren has nothing to do with this."

"Then why haven't you even tried to find a girlfriend since Mason was born?"

"Oh I don't know..." I rolled my eyes. "I've been a little preoccupied raising my son."

"Don't get pissy with me." He rolled his eyes. "I'm on your side, Edward. All I'm saying is I know Lauren took something when she left. But, it doesn't mean that you have to be alone forever."

"I don't want to be alone forever, Jazz. I want Mason to have a motherly figure in his life. I just.." I trilled off. "Bella is just the first girl I could...actually see myself with. And I really don't want to tell Mason or any future children I met their mother in some sleazy bar."

"So...a hardware store is a better place?"

"Much better." I laughed, taking the hot dogs off the grill.

* * *

The next morning, I got Mason up and out the door for school on time for once. Once he was settled, I headed off to work and Dad was waiting for me when I arrived.

"What's up?" I asked as I pushed past him to get inside. I was running a little late since Mason was super clingy this morning, but he never got upset when I was late. "Carlisle?"

"How's the house coming?" Phew. I thought he was pissed at me for something.

"It's going much faster than I thought it would." I explained as I changed into a Cullen's Construction shirt. "I'm ready for the plummer and electrician to come."

"Already?"

"I know."

"It's only been a couple of weeks."

"I guess I work faster when I'm alone." I shrugged, and it made sense. When I was here, I was constantly having to stop and answer questions or check someones work. It came with the job of being a project leader, but it was still frustrating having to constantly stop what I was doing. I worked much slower here at work, but I got a lot done by myself.

"Guess so."

"Carlisle?"

"What, son?"

"What do you really wanna know?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know exactly how the house is coming. You were with me on Wednesday and I'm fast, but I didn't get that much done in four days."

"I don't wanna know anything."

"Dad."

"Jasper said you had an interesting Saturday night."

"That little bugger." I rolled my eyes. Jasper couldn't keep a secret to save his life when it came to his family.

"Alice got it out of him."

"How'd you find out?" I asked. "I just told him last night."

"Alice came over for breakfast."

"Of course she did."

"So, you met a girl?"

"I have a new friend, yes."

"A new friend who you kiss randomly and take home?"

"She was drunk." I shrugged. "I don't have to explain myself to you. I'm twenty-six years old."

"I'm not saying you have to explain yourself." He sighed. "Jeeze, Edward. You're quite testy."

"I am not."

"Whatever you say." Carlisle chuckled as he patted my back and walked into his office. I finished getting ready and got my crew together. We were going to a new worksite today and we still hadn't briefed with them. It wasn't a very big project, but they were rich and they had high expectations. Plus, they were going to be there while we worked so I needed to remind certain people to be on their best behaviors.

The day seemed to drag on forever. Since we were on site, I wasn't able to pick Mason up from school and I didn't end up getting home until almost his bedtime. It were days like this that I wondered how I would survive if I had stayed in school and became doctor. It was rare that I wasn't with him for dinner because of work and I knew as a doctor I would never be home with him. But, after a long day at work only one thing could make everything better and that was coming home to my wonderful son.

"Daddy!" He cried as he stood up and ran over to me. I knelt down in front of him and he wrapped his tiny arms around my neck. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, buddy." I smiled as I stood up, picking him up. "What did you and Grandma do?"

"We went to the playground." He told me as he gently rubbed his little fingers over my cheek. "We played pirate."

"You did?"

"Uh-huh! And then we had sketty for dinner."

"Did you leave any for me?"

"Nope. I ate it alllll up." He giggled.

"There is plenty of spaghetti left in the fridge and a salad for you, sweetie." Mom piped in. "Then what did we do, Mase?"

"We worked on my letters and numbers."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah!" He smiled. "I can count to six now!"

"You can?"

"One. Two. Three. Four..." He looked over at my, who gave him an encouraging smile. "Five...six. Seven!"

"Wow, Mason! Good job!" I hugged him tightly. I had no idea how my son had gone from a newborn baby to a four year old counting to seven, but it seemed to have had happened over night.

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Can I wear my Ninja Turtle PJ's to bed?"

"Sure." I smiled. "Why don't you go grad them before your bath." I set him back down on the ground and watched as his little feet ran to his bedroom. I looked over at my Mom and could tell she was dying to hear more about Bella and Saturday night.

"So, he ate all of his dinner tonight."

"You can ask, Mom. I know you're dying inside."

"Who is she, Edward? You've never mentioned her before."

"She's just a friend."

"Is she?"

"Yes. She just broke up with her fiancé. If I ask her out now...I'm going to look like an ass."

"Baby, I'm not saying call her and ask her to marry you right now." She smiled. "I'm just glad you've found someone."

"Mom, I haven't found anyone yet."

"Okay, I'll rephrase that." She rolls her eyes. "I'm glad you've found someone who you seem to like more than just a friend."

"Me too."

"Has Mason met her?"

"No." I shook my head. "And...if we do end up starting something it'll still be a while before he meets her."

"I get that." She nodded. "I waited almost nine months before introducing you and your brother to Carlisle."

"Exactly."

"Honey, I'm just so glad to see you smiling again."

"I smile."

"Not like you did before Lauren left you."

"Mom, Jasper already gave me a big speech last night."

"I'm just saying, Mason has brought a lot of happiness into your life." She sighed. "But, this smile is different."

"How?"

"I don't know. I can just tell."

"Just do me a favor and don't start pressuring me and asking me all kinds of questions." I shook my head. "Just let me do this at my own pace."

"I won't say another word until you want me to."

"Thank you."

"Daddy!" Mason called from the doorway in nothing but his little Superman underwear. "I'm ready!"

"I'm coming, buddy!" I laughed as I hugged my mother goodbye.


	13. Did You Have to Ruin?

**Chapter Thirteen: Did You Have to Ruin?**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"Whoa, what happened to you?"

"Mike cheated on me."

"Son of a bitch." Jake mumbled as he pulled me into a tight hug. I gripped him tightly, afraid if I didn't he would disappear. Jake held me close as I cried into his PJ shirt and he eventually pulled me inside. I heard footsteps on the stairs, but Carmen never appeared. She either went upstairs or into their small home office.

"I knew it was over when he took that job in Denver, but I never thought..." I trailed off as a fresh wave of tears took over. "He cheated on me with our neighbor."

"Isn't she like fifteen?"

"The other neighbor." I laughed. "She's twenty-two."

"Yuck, she must have been really desperate."

"Jacob!"

"I'm sorry," He whispered, kissing the top of my head. "You want some coffee?"

"Yes, please." I collected myself as Jake pulled me into the kitchen. I sat down at the small island as he pulled everything out for the coffee. It wasn't until the coffee pot beeped that he asked me more questions.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you look like you got shit faced last night and are really hung over?"

"Because I got wasted last night and I am hungover."

"That's why you were calling me."

"Where were you, Jake?"

"We were with Carmen's parents." He bowed his head as he leaned against the counter. "We were telling them about the baby. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." I lied. I totally understood, but I still needed him last night. Edward was great and sweet, but he wasn't Jake. He wasn't my best friend. "You have a life."

"You're apart of my life, Bella."

"Not like I used to be." I mumbled and he looked away from me. "And it's okay. I get it. You're married. You're having a baby."

"I should have been there."

"I'm fine."

"How'd you get here? And where did you go last night?"

"When you didn't pick up, I called Edward."

"Edward?"

Had I not told him about Edward?

"I haven't told you about him."

"No, but I think you have some explaining to do."

So, I dove into the story of how Edward and I met to the point I decided to call him last night. Jake listened intently and the look on his face was like he was trying to put a puzzle together or something. He never asked me questions, he only listened and I was grateful he was actually keeping his mouth shut.

"So?"

"Seems like you have a thing for him."

"I do not!"

"Bella,"

"Up until a couple of hours ago, I was engaged."

"I'm not saying you were about to cheat on Mike with this guy." He explained. "It just seems like you have a...crush on him."

"Am I in sixth grade again?"

"Don't get defensive." He put his arms up. "I'm just saying, there are plenty of people you could have called last night when I didn't answer."

"Who?"

"Angela. Jane. Even your Dad."

"Okay, And...I was looking to get laid. So none of those options would work." I rolled my eyes. "And I wasn't going to call my Dad when I was already pretty drunk."

"I'm just saying."

"It doesn't matter anyway."

"What?"

"Edward has a kid." I shrugged. "His kid will always come first and he'll always be number one."

"Okay? I don't quite understand."

"I just...Edward and I are friends." I whispered. "He's hot and I was pissed off and drunk...and horny last night. I wouldn't have called him if Mike and I hadn't just broken up."

"Okay."

"It's true!"

"Whatever you say." He didn't believe me, but I was too tired to argue with him.

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Mike and I aren't going to get married."

"I know," He pulled me into another hug and I started crying again. I hadn't cried this much since my Mom died and that was way worse than what was happening now. And, as much as I hated Mike at the moment, I loved him. He was there when it counted up until this point. He was safe and predictable. I never had to question my trust for him.

After I spent the morning with Jake, it was time for me to head home. I felt disgusting even though Edward had washed my clothes and gave me a spare toothbrush. I just wanted to put an old pair of sweats on and crawl into bed. I just wanted to forget this horrible day and wallow for a little bit. Jake kept telling me I could stay, but I just wanted to go home.

Thankfully, when Jake pulled into the parking lot Mike's car wasn't there. He offered to walk me inside, but I insisted that I was fine. And, I was pretty okay considering what happened. But I just needed some time to myself to think and gain some composure. I said goodbye to Jake and headed into the apartment that we bought together.

And suddenly, it didn't feel like home anymore.

The second I stepped inside, all I could think about where he was. Was he with Bree? Had they been screwing all night? Was this really the first time it happened? Did he want more with her?

Was she worth it?

Instead of crying again, I started gathering his things for him. I pulled his clothes out of the closet and drawers. I put his books and movies into boxes and grabbed his things out of the bathroom. I packed up everything I knew was just his that we hadn't bought together. And, when I was finished boxing everything up I didn't know what to do with it all. Did I just wait for him to come and get it? I didn't want anything to do with him or his things, so I started grabbing boxes and putting them into the hallway.

I didn't care if someone took anything, I just wanted anything that resembled Mike to be out of my house.

When I was finished lugging the boxes, I got to work sorting through my things. I threw pictures in the trash and things I'd worn for big occasions in boxes. I wanted it all gone. I didn't even want to think about him again, even if I was getting rid of my favorite dress. After I thought I'd covered every inch of the apartment, I noticed my engagement ring sitting on the counter in the bathroom. What did you do with an engagement ring after your fiancé cheats on you?

I decided the best thing to do with it would be to just set it on top of the boxes outside. Anyone could come and take it, but who cared? I didn't have any use for it anymore and unless he planned on giving it to Bree, he didn't either.

After I was done, the apartment felt very empty. Everything that made it feel warm and inviting was in the trash and I didn't really know what to do next. should I even bother telling him his stuff was sitting outside of our apartment? Should I wait for him to come home or should I just be gone when he got here? I was starting to get a headache, and then my phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hey,"

"Hi," I smiled at his warm voice. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing."

He was so damn sweet.

"I'm fine, Edward."

"Are you?"

"As fine as anyone could be, I guess." I sighed. I didn't want to keep talking about this, but everyone else had different ideas I guess."How are you?"

"Mason's napping and I had some time to kill."

"Well, I'm glad I could help you with that."

Why was small talk to awkward?

Jake was right, there was a spark with Edward. There were plenty of guys in that bar last night I could have hooked up with, but I wanted Edward. I knew it would ruin the very new friendship we had, but I wanted to sleep with him. He was a great kisser and I could only imagine how great he was in bed.

But, he had his own life and so did I. His life revolved around his son and I respected that. I was not in a place in my life where I wanted kids, and I knew dating him put his son in my life as well. Plus, I just wanted to focus on my job with Dad and possibly getting into such a messy and tangled relationship would just distract me even more.

"Saturday afternoon, my parents are taking Mason to the Hands on Children's Museum." He told me. "And I was wondering, if you'd like to do something with me."

"Oh...ah..."

"Not a date." He was quick to add. "You just got out of a serious relationship, and I respect that. I just figured...you'd need some good company and I know your friend Jake is busy with his pregnant wife."

He really listened to me Saturday when we talked about Jake.

"Plus, it would be nice to have some company."

"What are we going to be doing?" I asked curiously.

"It's a surprise."

"Umm...I don't do very well with surprises." I laughed, thinking back to the time Jake tried to surprise me with my twenty-first birthday party.

"Trust me, this is a good surprise." He said. "Plus, it'll only be the two of us. No one is going to be popping out a hiding spaces."

"I don't..."

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?"

And what was the worst that could happen? I could be bored all afternoon, or I could have a great time with someone who seemed to really care about me. There was just something about Edward and I couldn't say no to him. I was just so drawn to him, and I had been for weeks ever since he came into the store.

"Sure, I'd love to come with you." I finally agreed. "What time?"

"My parents are leaving around noon, so probably around one o'clock?"

"Okay," I nodded and suddenly felt like there were butterflies in my stomach.

"See you then." And I could just picture his smile. "Bye, Bella."

"Bye." I sighed and hung up the phone.

What was this guy doing to me?

After I took a few deep breaths, I decided to call my landlord and ask for a lock change. I didn't want any chance of Mike getting back in here and after explaining the situation, he agreed to come as soon as he could. After getting that done, I decided to warm up leftovers from a few nights ago and found an episode of Friends on tv.

Once the landlord changed the locks, he handed me my new key and I told him not to worry about the second key. I took it and threw it in my purse so he wouldn't be able to find it. I crawled back under my blanket as another episode of Friends came back on. I watched the clock on the DVD player tick by, and at ten til eleven, I heard keys jingling in the locks.

"Bella!" I heard him call and I stiffened. "Bella, open the door!" I just muted the TV and covered my mouth so I wouldn't make a sound. I didn't want to see him because if I did, I wouldn't be able to control myself. "I know you're in there! What is all my stuff doing out here?"

I stayed quiet.

"And why doesn't my key work?" Wow, he was an idiot. "Bella, come on!" I grabbed a sheet of paper from the side table and began writing him a note. I just wanted him gone, but couldn't even think about talking to him.

 _I'm kicking you out. Go stay with your new girlfriend until you leave for Denver. I got the locks changed, genius so your key no longer works. Leave me alone._

I folded the paper in hand and slid it under the door.

"She's not my girlfriend!" He argued. "Bella, come on. This is my apartment too." He was moving soon anyway, so I didn't see what the big deal was. "Please."

Mike stayed, knocking for another ten minutes until someone yelled at him to shut up. Eventually, I heard him walk away and I ran into the bedroom and shut the door. I fell onto the unmade bed and began crying into my pillow again. As much as I hated him for agreeing to work for the company in Denver, I never pictured us ending like this.

I at least thought we could end things maturely.

* * *

I stood in my closet for twenty minutes Saturday morning trying to figure out what to wear. I didn't want to wear anything too fancy and look like I was trying to hard. But, I didn't want to be too casual in case he was planning on taking me somewhere nicer. I eventually decided on a pair of black jeans and a jean jacket with a pair of flats.

I pulled my hair back in a ponytail and put on a minimal amount of makeup. I really didn't want this to feel to formal or too date like. I liked Edward, but I really wasn't ready for any kind of relationship.

It was too soon.

Finally, right at one, the buzzer rang. I grabbed my purse and told him I would be right down. I took one more look in the mirror, took a deep breath, and headed downstairs. He was standing beside his car and smiled when he saw me. He opened the passenger door for me and I slid into the car. He ran to his side of the car, got in, and put the key back in the ignition.

"You look beautiful." He said without looking at me as he put the car into drive. I couldn't help but blush as he pulled out of the parking lot and tried to hide my embarrassment. Comments like this from Mike at the start of our relationship didn't do this to me.

Maybe that should have been my first clue that we wouldn't last.

"How was your week?" He asked.

"Busy." I sighed. "My dad finally hired new people for the front of the store, and gave me the...wonderful job of training them."

"You don't like them?"

"No, they're great." I nodded. "But, one of the is sixteen and he has no interest in working there. But, we needed one more part time person in order to be fully staffed and so that everyone would get a fair amount of time."

"Ah, to be sixteen again." He laughed. "I worked at an indoor DQ until I graduated and went to school."

"You didn't work with your dad?"

"I did for a little, but when he saw I didn't really have an interest in construction...he told me to go find another job so he wouldn't have to be bothered with my eye rolling and attitude."

"Huh," I laughed.

"What?"

"It's just...funny you didn't like construction."

"I still don't sometimes." He told me. "I would much rather be working as a doctor. But, working for Carlisle has been really good for me and my son, so I don't mind it." He explained. "Did you always wanna work for your dad?"

"No, but I gladly took the job when he offered it to me."

"What's your dream job?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I mean, I got the degree I always wanted but I never really had the 'dream job' everyone talked about. As long as I was doing what I loved, I was cool working anywhere." I told him as he turned into a driveway. I looked at him with confusion, but he just smiled at me.

"I think that's kind of cool." He said, refusing to tell me where we were and why we were here.

"Are you going to tell me where we are?" I asked as he put the car into park. We stood in front of a house that clearly needed some work. The paint was chipping, the roof looked a mess, and the yard looked like a hurricane had hit.

"This..." He smiled, turning and facing the house. "Is the fixer upper I bought and am working on with my family."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Mason and I should be moving in soon."

"Soon?"

"The outside needs some work, but the inside is almost done." He explained. "I have a roofer coming this weekend to work on the parts that are falling apart, and we're painting the exterior when he's done."

"And the yard?"

"Most of it is getting dug up and replanted." He told me. "And, Mom wants to help me landscape so I can't do anything until she's...gotten everything perfect."

"Your words or hers?"

"Hers, of course." He laughed.

"So...why am I here?" I asked as he walked towards the front door.

"Most of the demolition was done the first weekend after I bought it." He explained as he opened the front door. Everything was so empty and half done, but it still looked so good. "This is going to be the living room." He pointed to the room that came off the kitchen. "And then the office is here."

He continued to give me the tour and we eventually ended up at the backdoor. He led me outside and stopped in front of a shed that was falling apart.

"I was going to try and salvage this, but after looking at the numbers, it would be too expensive." He explained. "And the garage is big enough for Mason's outside play equipment and some of my tools since it's a double garage and I only have one car."

"Okay?"

"So, I need to tear this down." He said as he walked around the shed and picked something up. "Would you like to do the honors?" He asked, holding up a sledgehammer.

"Oh, I don't think I'm qualified?"

"Qualified?" He laughed. "Bella, I let Mason help with some of the demolition when we first started." He smiled. "Sure, I gave him a small hammer and watched every move he made, but he was overly qualified...and he's only four."

"I'm good."

"You're pissed." He said bluntly. "You've been through a lot this week and everything you thought you knew came crashing down."

"Edward,"

"I get it. I've been there when Lauren left." He never mentioned Mason's mom. "And, when I got home, Carlisle took me to a house he was tearing down in order to build something new and let me go to town."

"What is this going to do?"

"It'll help you get your anger out." He said. "Trust me. There isn't anything more satisfying as picking a spot of wall, picturing the person who screwed you over, and hitting them with a huge sledgehammer." He laughed.

"I'm really fine."

"Just...trust me." He repeated, handing me the sledgehammer. "The whole thing is coming down so do however much demolition you'd like." He wasn't going to let me out of this.

I took the sledgehammer from him and looked at the crumbling structure. Suddenly, all I saw was Mike was his hands up Bree's shirt. An anger that I'd never felt erupted out of me and I screamed as I swung the hammer at the wall. It made contact and when I pulled back, there was a giant hole in the wall.

"Nice," Edward laughed, but I didn't even care that he was there anymore. I continued hitting the wall until I felt tears streaming down my cheek. "Bella." Edward called, but I ignored him. "Bella, stop." He urdged, but I continued swinging.

"Fuck...you!" I screamed as Edward crammed the hammer, stopping me from hitting it again. "What?"

"If you continue hitting this wall, the structure is going to fall on you." He whispered.

"I'm not done."

"You don't have to be." He smiled. "You just need to move." He said and I nodded. He pulled me to the back of the shed, and I continued my therapy. Eventually, the structure did fall. I had beaten it so much that it crumbled to the ground.

Just like my relationship with Mike.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note** : Hey guys! I am so sorry with the late upload. I've been pretty busy with school lately, and I'm only going to get busier. The program that I'm in now takes up most of my free time, so I won't be able to update very regularly. BUT I will be updating when I can, and I will also be continuing One Life and Uncharted Territory as well. Just be patient with me. I love these stories and don't want to stop writing them. I will write whenever I can and post as frequently as my schedule allows. _

_Thanks for being awesome! - **Springhiller09**_


	14. I See it on Your Face

**Chapter Fourteen: I See it on Your Face**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

"Fuuuuck!" Bella cried as the old shed crumbled to the ground. I watched as she dropped the sledgehammer and hugged herself. I walked over to her, not knowing exactly what to do in this kind of situation. Were we close enough to hug her? Bella and I had a relationship that didn't make any sense, so I just stood there...ready if she needed me.

"Fuck," She cried as she turned and buried her face in my shoulder. My heart broke for her as she sobbed into my shirt and I tightly wrapped my arms around her. No one deserved this. No one deserved to be betrayed by the person they loved. I hated that she was going through this, because she loved him. She wouldn't have said yes to marrying him if she didn't.

We stood there for a few minutes, and eventually her sobs began to die down. Once she was calmer, I led her over to the deck stairs and sat down. She laid her head on my shoulder and I just continued to hug her. Whatever we were, I wanted to know that I was going to be there. Even though we'd only known each other for a short time, it felt like we'd known each other for years. I'd never felt so comfortable with someone before...and it was kind of scary if I were being honest.

"Sorry," She sniffled, lifting her head. "I got snot all over your shirt."

"I'm a Dad." I laughed. "A little bit of snot is nothing. I've gotten so much of Mason's poop on me over the years...I don't wanna talk about it."

"I'm ruining our day."

"Bella, I bought you here so you could deal with this."

"I was dealing with it."

"Okay, so you could keep dealing with it." I rephrased, even though I knew she hadn't been dealing with it. "Feel better?"

"Actually...yeah." She giggled. "A lot better. How'd you know this would work again?"

"Carlisle let me tear down almost an entire house when Lauren left." I told her. "I mean, if I had an entire house for you I would have brought you there."

"This was perfect." She smiled and I saw a small glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"You hungry?" I asked, looking at my watch. We'd been here for what seemed like forever and she mentioned earlier she hadn't eaten.

"Yeah." She smiled.

"I can order a pizza." I said, standing up and pulling my phone out of my pocket. I ordered us a pizza and dug around in my car for some napkins so we wouldn't make that big of a mess. When the pizza arrived, I put an old blanket on the floor and we sat down together.

"Wanna play a game?" She asked as she reached for another slice of pizza.

"What game?"

"Twenty questions?"

"Sure. Go for it. Ask away."

"Favorite color?"

"That's your question?"

"It's just the ice breaker." She laughed.

"Teal." I rolled my eyes.

"Food?"

"Pizza."

"Why did you want to be a doctor?" She asked after a few more basic questions.

"Alice was sick when we were kids." I explained. "It wasn't anything serious once we figured out what was wrong, but she was so miserable. The doctors she went to were really great and worked really hard to figure out what was going on."

"What was it?"

"Gluten allergy." I laughed. "Once she cut gluten out, she was fine. But...I wanted to help people figure out what was going on. Whether it was good or bad news."

"Did you ever consider adoption?"

"A few times." I admitted. "Especially when Lauren and I couldn't stop fighting. I didn't want to raise a child in such a hostile environment. But then...I took one look at Mason and knew I had to be with him." I thought back to the day he was born. "He was so perfect. I'd never heard such a more beautiful sound until he cried for the first time. Do you want kids?"

"Hey's it's not my turn." She giggled.

"Bella,"

"Eventually." She nodded. "I guess...I'm a lot further away now that Mike and I aren't getting married."

"You don't have to be married." I shrugged.

"Yeah...well..." She trailed off sadly. I was about to try and make her feel better when I heard the front door opened. I looked over, confused since no one knew I was here, and raised my eyebrows when I saw Emmett walking towards us.

"Hey," I said, standing up. "How'd you know I was here?"

"I just guessed since Mom and Dad have Mason and you weren't at home." He shrugged and he couldn't seem to wipe his typical, stupid grin off his face. "Don't you know how to answer your phone?"

"Why? What's up?"

"Guess."

"Emmett, come on."

"She's pregnant." He grinned.

"Who?"

"Are you stupid?"

"Emmett,"

"Rose." He laughed and clapped his hands together. "She's pregnant, man."

"No,"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"She showed me the test this morning, and..." He trailed off, looking behind me at Bella. I turned to look at her and smiled. She was obviously trying not to listen, but the smile on her face told me she heard what my brother told me. "Hello."

"Oh, Emmett, this is Bella." I introduced as Bella stood up.

"Bella, huh?" He smirked.

"Be cool." I felt like we were in elementary school again by the way he was looking at her.

"It's nice to meet you, Bella." He put way too much emphasis on her name and I could feel my cheeks warming with embarrassment. "I'm Emmett, Edward's older...much cooler brother."

"Hi," She smiled. "I can call a cab or something if you wanna..."

"No, don't be stupid." I assured her, turning back to my brother. "How far along is she?"

"I don't know yet." He shrugged. "She said she scheduled a doctors appointment for Tuesday, but she thinks she's about two months."

"I can't...believe it." I laughed. Emmett and Rosalie wanted a baby so badly and it was finally happening for them. I was finally going to be an uncle and Mason would finally have another kid to play with. "Does anyone else know?"

"Rose wanted to wait and tell people after her appointment, but I just needed to tell someone." I was honored I was the one he decided to tell. "But, Rose doesn't know I told you so keep your mouth shut."

"I will."

"Or I'll pound you." He smiled and I knew he was actually serious. "So, Bella, what do you do?"

"Oh...I work with my dad at his hardware store." She answered. "I work as his financial manager."

"Fancy."

"Not really, but...I love it." She smiled. I loved that she was so passionate about her job and the store she worked in. "But, we should get going. I told my Dad I'd see him this weekend since I've been avoiding him all week."

"I can take you home." I whispered. Bella and I cleaned up the pizza and blanket before heading out. I told Emmett I'd meet him at his house after I dropped Bella off and led us to the car. When we got in, Bella was eerily quiet and I wasn't sure if I should press her on it.

"I haven't told my father yet." She whispered. "Mike and I broke up a week ago and my dad doesn't know."

"Why?"

"Telling my dad means it's really over." She shrugged. "And...that's hard to wrap my head around I guess."

"Yeah, I get that."

"What meant it was really over for you and Lauren?" She asked. "Other than signing the divorce papers?"

"Moving back home." I told her. "Lauren stayed in school. She graduated like I was supposed to and when I moved away from her, I knew there was no hope of her coming back."

"He's going to say I told you so." She sighed and looked out the window again. "He never liked Mike and that should have been my biggest clues we wouldn't last."

"He's your dad, I doubt he'd like any of your boyfriends."

"He'd probably like you." She whispered so low, I probably wasn't meant to hear her. "Thanks for today. It really did help."

"I was happy to do it." I reached out and gripped her hand. She looked up and looked at me with those beautiful, brown eyes. I so wished I could have kissed her, but that's not what today was about. Today was about letting her deal with her breakup, and I wasn't going to miss with her head by kissing her. Again.

"Bye, Edward." She whispered, getting out of the car. I watched as she got inside of her apartment building and pulled out of her parking lot. I made my way back home and while Mason was still with his grandparents, I started looking through a furniture catalog. Since our apartment was small, we did not have enough furniture to fill an entire house.

Which meant I had to look through catalogs and buy new furniture, which was probably the least exciting part of a fixer upper. Alice and Rosalie had tabbed pages for me to look at, but I ultimately was going to make the final decision. Most of the stuff they had tabbed were things I liked, which I was happy about.

Decorating was not my thing.

Just after I'd finished looking through everything, there was a soft knock at the door. I dropped what I was working on and walked over to the front door. When I opened the door, Mason was passed out on Carlisle's shoulder and Mom was carrying a bag from the museum.

"What'd you do to him?" I laughed as Carlisle carried him to his bedroom.

"He ran around the entire museum all afternoon." Mom laughed. "He passed out three minutes into the drive home."

"Thanks for taking him." I whispered as Carlisle closed his bedroom door.

"We want our grandson to be as well-rounded as possible." Carlisle smiled. "It was actually pretty fun. Everything excited him."

"Is he fed?"

"No, we starved him all day long." Mom rolled her eyes. "We stopped for dinner on the way home."

"Thank you." I hugged her.

"How'd your date with Bella go?" Dad asked as they moved back towards the door.

"What?" I asked since I hadn't told them I was going to spend the day with Bella.

"Emmett told us he messed up your date." Mom added.

"I'm going to kill him." This was the exact reason I didn't tell them I was going to be with Bella. It wasn't a date. It really wasn't and I didn't intend it to ever become a date. I just wanted to spend some time with her because...I just couldn't seem to stay away.

"It wasn't a date?" She asked.

"No. We were just hanging out." I shrugged. "And I figured today would be a good day since you guys had Mason all day." I shouldn't have had to explain my reasoning to anyone.

"Okay then, it wasn't a date." Carlisle chuckled and I could tell he didn't totally believe me.

"Thanks for taking Mason today." I rolled my eyes. "I'll see you Monday." I kicked them out and sat back down on the couch. I knew if I didn't wake Mason up, he would wake up at four in the morning, but it was really quiet.

But, I did not want him up super early, so I got up and walked to his room. There was nothing else better in this world than the sight of my son fast asleep. I smiled as I listened to him snore softly and sat down on his bed. I gently rubbed his back and he dug his face into his pillow, trying his best to ignore him.

"Buddy, you gotta wake up for a little bit." I whispered, pushing his hair out of his eyes. He really needed a haircut.

"Why?" He wined, sitting up and crawling into my lap.

"Because, I want to hear all about your day with your grandparents."

"Okay," He leaned against me and I kissed the top of his head.

These were my favorite moments with him. I carried him out to the living room and sat down with him in my lap. As he got older, these quiet times with him were few and far between. It proved to me that no matter how old he was, he'd always be my baby.

"Tell me everything you learned today." I said as he rubbed his eyes, waking up a little bit more. After some prompting, Mason was awake enough to tell me everything he did today. Every. Single. Little. Detail. He talked for almost an hour about his day, and when he was done it was already time for his bath.

I got him ready for bed, and let him pick two books out since he'd had a late nap that afternoon. He picked out his favorite book, _If You Give a Mouse a Cookie_ as well as the _Cat in the Hat_. I pulled the covers up and sat down on his bed with him as I read him to sleep. He passed out in the middle of Cat in the Hat and I put the book on his nightstand. I leaned down and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead, turned the light off and left his room.

* * *

"Are you kidding?" Alice screamed after Rosalie had announced her pregnancy. After their doctors appointment Tuesday, Emmett and Rose invited everyone over for dinner. It was hard to keep a straight face, knowing exactly why they'd asked everyone together. Emmett had to slap me a few times to keep my face straight.

"I'm about two months." She smiled, placing her hand on her stomach.

"Did you hear that, Mason?" I asked, turning to my son who was playing with a Hot Wheel.

"What?" He looked up at me.

"Aunt Rose is going to have a baby."

"Am I getting a brother?" His eyes lit up.

"No, bud." I ruffled his hair. "You're getting a baby cousin."

"A what?"

"A cousin." I had no idea how to explain this to him. "Since Rose is your aunt, this baby is going to be your cousin."

"Huh?"

"I'll explain it to you later." I laughed, looking up at my mother who was stifling a laugh. The rest of the time we spent with them was kind of chaotic. Rose took Alice and my mother to what would be the nursery while Emmett talked to Carlisle about building the baby a crib. I was so happy my brother was finally going to have a baby, because as much as they loved Mason, nothing could compare to having your own kid.

After the girls were done finding over Rosalie, it was time for everyone to leave. Mason was getting cranky and we had an early job the next morning. I got Mason ready to leave and he looked up at Rosalie with his signature grin.

"I'm happy your gonna have a baby." He whispered and Rose nearly burst into tears.

"Me too, Mason." She knelt down next to him and kissed him on the cheek. "Me too. You're going to be an awesome cousin."

"There's that word again!" He huffed, annoyed because he couldn't fully grasp the meaning of the word. I got home, got Mason ready for bed and tucked him in. He fell asleep before our story was over and I just watched him sleep for a few minutes before going to my room. I changed into my PJs and checked my phone, hoping for something from Bella.

There wasn't a thing.

There hadn't been since Saturday and I was getting antsy. I knew she needed time and I was going to respect that, but I still wanted to spend time with her. Saturday was one of the most fun times I'd had with someone other than my family in a long time. With Mason, I didn't get to go out with friends anymore and while they understood, I still missed being with people who weren't my family...as much as I loved them.

The next morning, Mom was over early to get Mason up and ready for school since we had a big day at the company. Dad needed me there early...as in normal time...because we were trying to snag a giant construction job. They were putting up another strip mall about an hour out of Jacksonville and Dad wanted the job. He said that he needed his kids to be there with him since we knew the most about the company and everyone who worked there.

Plus, we were the only ones he trusted with this information.

He hadn't bothered to tell the others about it yet because he didn't want to get peoples hopes up. With this job, he would be able to raise everyone's salary just a little bit, but if anyone else knew that, they would blab.

When I got the the store, Emmett and Carlisle were in the truck ready to go. I quickly changed into my polo and jumped in the back with them. We made the hour long drive to the offices of the owners for the project and went upstairs for our meeting.

Dad used his magic and by the end of the meeting, we were signed on as the contractors for the strip mall. I could hear Dad sigh in relief when he shook the mans hands and I couldn't help but smile. His company had always been really good with building houses but hadn't made a name for more commercial buildings yet. This was a big step for Cullen Construction and I was proud to be a part of it.

When we were finished, we made our way back to Jacksonville to continue working on the house. Dad's other manager was handling things at the site today and none of us really needed to be there. Just as we were pulling out of the driveway, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

 _Bella's Cell: I'm moving this weekend. Can you help?_

 _Me: Absolutely._


	15. Baby, I'm Relieved

**Chapter Fifteen: B** **aby, I'm Relieved**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

I'd stood in front of this house so many times before and yet, for the first time, I didn't want to go inside. I didn't want to face my dad and tell him the wedding was off. I didn't want to have to explain to him Mike was the scum he always said he was. But, this needed to be done so I could finally just start moving on.

I pulled my key out of my purse, unlocked the front door and pushed it open.

I could hear the TV on in the small den to the left of the foyer and took a deep breath. I walked into the room and smiled as I watched my Dad cheering on his favorite college football team. He was in a good mood, which was good because he might not want to murder Mike when I told him we'd broken up.

"Hey!" I greeted him a little too happily. He turned around in his chair and stood up to give me a hug.

"Hi, baby." He smiled, kissing the top of my head. "What are you doing here?"

"When I went to the store, you weren't there so I assumed you'd come home."

"But that doesn't explain why you're here."

"I need to talk to you."

"Are you okay?" He immediately panicked as he shut the TV off and turned all his attention to me.

"I'm fine,"

"Bella," He pushed. He knew me too well.

"Mike and I broke up," I whispered, not looking at him.

"When?"

"About a week ago."

Oh," He looked hurt.

"Don't be hurt that I didn't tell you." I sighed. "I wanted to, but I also know how much you hate Mike and I wanted to be able to deal with things at my own pace without you telling me you told me so and threatening to kill him."

"Bella, of course, I don't like Mike. I never have." He added. "But, you're hurt and I'm your Dad and I would have just...been there for you."

"I know, I'm sorry," I whispered, letting the first tear shed.

"Oh, baby." He got up and sat with me on the couch and wrapped his arms around me. "I'm so sorry you're in so much pain."

"He cheated, Dad. He slept with our neighbor after we got into that huge fight."

"I'll kill him."

"Dad, no." I shook my head. "I kicked him out of the apartment and he's moving to Denver for work. It's over, I just want to forget about him."

"Okay, Bells. Whatever you want." He said as he held me as I cried. "He's moving to Denver? That was fast."

"He got the job before we broke up. That's why we were fighting."

"Stupid shit." He mumbled. "You know, he never even asked me for my permission to marry you."

"What?"

"When you announced your engagement, that was the first time I even knew he wanted to marry you."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, as much as I disliked him, you seemed to love him. You were happy and I thought that I would grow to like him with time."

"You never grew to like him."

"He never seemed good enough for you," He whispered. "I'm sorry you're hurting, baby. What can I do?"

"Help me look for a new apartment."

"You wanna move?"

"We moved into our apartment together, Dad. I don't want to be reminded how much of an ass he is every day." I shrugged. "Plus, the girl he cheated on me with lives right next door."

"What a little fucker." He mumbled. "Do you wanna stay here until we find you a new place?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, your room is just as you left it."

"I think I wanna do that." I agreed. "But, that means you have to sleep here too, Dad."

"Deal." He didn't even try to argue that he didn't sleep at the store this time.

Over the next week, Dad and I looked at a dozen apartments, but none of them seemed right to me. I wasn't sure what I wanted, but I knew I was going to have to find a roommate because there was no way I was going to be able to afford to live on my own in the neighborhoods Dad approved of. He offered to help me a little bit until I found a roommate and at first, I wanted to object, but I did need the help and didn't want to be sleeping in my childhood bedroom for much longer.

I loved that house, but I needed to be on my own again.

Dad and I finally found a modest, two bedroom apartment close to the store. It wasn't much, but it was much nicer and felt way homier than the other's we'd looked at. I put in an offer on Tuesday and got the call early Wednesday morning that I'd gotten the apartment.

"It's nice, Bells," Jake commented as I showed him around the apartment.

"Good, because I don't think I could have looked at anymore." I rolled my eyes. "How are you feeling, Carmen?"

"The morning sickness is starting to subside." She smiled. "But, I've been better."

"When's your next doctor's appointment?"

"Saturday." Shoot. that was my moving day and I had really been hoping Jake could help/

"I can come and help when the appointment is over, but this was the only day that it really worked with my schedule..."

"Jake, it's fine. I'll figure it out." I assured him. Of course, he needed to be with his wife and I wasn't going to make him feel bad for leaving me hanging. I really would figure it out, even if I needed to hire someone to help.

But, then I remembered Edward didn't work over the weekends and he had offered to help me with things as I needed them. I pulled my phone from my purse and found his number.

Me: I'm moving this weekend. Can you help?

Edward's Cell: Absolutely.

The next two days, Dad gave me off so I could pack up my things. Without Mike's crap taking up a lot of space, I realized I had a lot less than I thought. It still took a long time to get things completely packed, but I had managed to get everything into boxes and labeled before I had to go pick up the Uhaul from the company. I was just pulling the truck into the lot when I noticed Edward's car parked next to mine.

"Hey," I smiled as he got out of his car. "Thanks again for helping me. I know you usually work on the house over the weekend..."

"We're almost done." He smiled. "Well, with the construction. Mom and Alice still have to paint and do their thing."

"Oh," I giggled. "Well, everything is all in boxes, but I need help disassembling my bed."

"I can help with that." I led him upstairs to my apartment. He helped me with my bed and we started loading things up on the dolly to get a move on. With both of us working, we had everything loaded into the truck relatively fast. I told him he could just drive over in his car so he could leave whenever, but he insisted on driving the truck so I could take my car with me. When we got to the apartment, we parked the truck and got a move on with unloading.

Bringing stuff into the apartment took a lot longer than it did to pack the truck, but I was pickier with where things went this time. I did not want it to take me days to get completely unpacked, so I was making sure boxes were all going in the appropriate room.

"This is nice," Edward huffed after we'd brought the last load up. He was tired and sweating like a maniac, but he never complained once. "Cozy."

"It is kind of small, but Dad was very specific about where I lived."

"I think it's nice that he cares so much about the neighborhood you live in." He smiled. "I'll probably be the same whenever Mason is ready to move out."

"You've got some time."

"I don't know, he's getting so big." He laughed. "I think he might be ready to leave me within a few weeks."

"Have him give me a call, I know a lot of decent apartments in good areas." I smiled, meeting his gaze. Damn, he had the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen.

"So, ah..." He stuttered after a few seconds of silence. "Do you need help putting your bed back together?"

"That would be great,"

"Let's get to it."

Edward stayed and helped me with a lot of big things. I was super grateful he stayed because I wouldn't have been able to move the couch and other big pieces of furniture on my own and didn't want to wait for Jake to come over tomorrow. After everything was in place, I told him I didn't need any more help, but he insisted on taking me to the diner down the road.

"Don't you have to get Mason?"

"Rosalie and Emmett have him today." He explained as I unlocked my car. "I think they're trying to play Mom and Dad to help get ready for the baby."

"He seemed really excited."

"They both are."

"Was it hard for them to get pregnant?"

"It was harder for them than it was for me," He joked. "But it wasn't as hard as it is for some people."

"Edward?" I asked quietly when I gathered the courage to ask him something I'd been wanting to for a while now.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you so nice to me?" I whispered. "I mean, you barely know me and you helped me move, let met tear down your shed when I couldn't deal with my breakup and picked me up from a bar when I was completely wasted. Not many people would do that."

"I don't know," He shrugged. "I haven't even made an attempt to be friends with a girl since Lauren left. I guess...I'm just drawn to you."

"You...you are?"

"Bella, I came into your hardware store to buy things I could get for free at the shop." He said without meeting my gaze.

"Oh, I guess I should have caught on."

"Probably."

"Thank you,"

"I really don't mind helping..."

"You've gone above and beyond helping me, and I don't just mean with helping me move and giving me the hammer last week."

"Mike should have cherished you, Bella." He whispered. "He's a fucking moron for letting you go."

"I need to tell you something,"

"What?"

"I'm not ready, Edward," I whispered. "You're a really great guy and probably the kind of guy I should have been with before, but I'm not ready to date yet. I want to be because...Lord knows Mike didn't take any time moving on, but I'm not him. I can't just..."

"Hey, we're friends." He nodded. "For now, we're friends. You tell me when you're ready for more."

"You'd...wait for me?"

"Like I said, I haven't made any attempts before to even become friends with girls." He shrugged. "I'm a patient guy, Bella."

"Good, because...I do like you."

"I understand the need for time." He smiled sweetly, reaching out and taking my hand in his. "I've been there. And," He trailed off. "I like you too."

"I know,"

"You do?" He blushed. "Was I...that obvious?"

"You tried to kiss me after we'd hung out once," I laughed as I remembered that day at the coffee place. "I kind of figured after that."

"So...friends."

"For now," I nodded taking a bite of my burger.

* * *

The next day, I posted an ad in the paper for a good roommate. It wasn't exactly the perfect way to go about it, but I was running out of options. I didn't want Dad helping me with the bills for a very long time and after a week of meeting with five people, I realized it was impossible. I wasn't going to find a good roommate and I was getting anxious.

"I have someone who would be the perfect roommate," Edward told me as we met for coffee on his lunch break.

"Who?"

"One of my coworkers, she just broke up with her boyfriend and moved out." He explained. "You two could share horror stories about your dick exes."

"Does she want to move?"

"The apartment is under his name so she can't kick him out."

"Okay, I'll meet her if she wants." I agreed.

The next morning, I met Katie at a coffee place near Cullen's Construction and I thought she was pretty damn perfect. She had a business degree with a concentration in accounting from Texas State and worked as Cullen's main accountant. She told me she was finally ready to be on her own and although she was upset about the breakup, she believed it would be good for her. I hoped that her attitude would rub off on me. After we went over the rent and how we would be splitting the bills, I was pretty sure I wanted her to be my roommate.

"She's awesome," I told Edward as we spoke on the phone while I cooked dinner.

"Was it love at first sight?"

"Oh, yeah. I think I'll go gay for her." I heard him drop something and curse under his breath. "Edward?"

"Don't tease,"

"Oh jeez." I rolled my eyes. "She's going to move in next weekend. Thanks for sending her my way."

"Yeah, the idea of you living with a total stranger was kind of unsettling."

"What?"

"Who knows what kind of crazy person you would have found through that ad in the paper."

"Were you trying to protect me?"

"Of course I was trying to protect you." He whispered and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it." Just as he took a breath to say something, I heard a loud bang and a little boy calling for his daddy.

"Shit," He mumbled. "I gotta go."

"I figured. Bye, Edward."

"Bye," He hung up and I set my phone back on the counter.

Over the next week, I spent a lot of time with Katie getting to know her. I learned that Cullen's was the first job she'd ever had after graduation and had started as a part-time employee. I learned that she hadn't been in love wit her ex for a long time before she finally ended it. I learned her favorite movie, music, and book and I was starting to get really excited for her to move in.

It had been way too long since I had a girl roommate and it would be a nice change of pace.

It was also nice knowing that she didn't have a boyfriend and didn't plan on bringing random guys home with her. There was no way in hell I was going to listen to her having sex with someone while I was still trying to cope with my breakup. I had to admit, I felt a hell of a lot better than I did when I first found out he cheated on me, but it still sucked and getting over it wasn't going to happen overnight.

On Saturday, Jake, Edward, and I helped her officially move out of her boyfriend's apartment and got her settled. Since he was keeping most of the large furniture, it took about half the time to get her moved then it did with me, and I was just glad I wasn't going to have to deal with moving anyone anytime soon. Jake and Carmen were happy where they were and I knew Dad would never go anywhere. As Katie was unpacking her bedroom, I took the time to sit on the couch with a glass of wine and a good book and just...relax.

"Can I ask you something?" Katie asked as she sat down next to me.

"Sure,"

"What's up with you and Edward?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, he looks at you the way every girl dreams of being looked at." She smiled brightly. "You two just seem like you really care about each other."

"We do, but it isn't anything romantic," I nodded. "Yet."

"So...it will turn into something romantic?"

"With time, yeah I think it could." I smiled, remembering the way his lips felt against mine. "But, for now, I'm just getting over my break up and we're getting to know each other. It isn't exactly easy with Mason."

"He loves that little boy," She smiled. "I remembered being really annoyed when I first started working for them because that child was all he ever talked about." He laughed. "I was young and wasn't interested in kids yet, but when I met him, I understood why. Mason is pretty incredible."

"I can only imagine."

"And he looks just like Edward. His hair is a bit darker, but you would know they were father and son just by the color of his eyes."

"I haven't met him yet," I sighed sadly. I had a feeling I wouldn't meet him unless things got serious and I was okay with that. It just kind of sucked because Mason was his entire life and I wanted to get to know him better.

"You'll get there eventually," Katie assured me. "Again, Edward seems pretty crazy about you."

"You really think so?"

"Edward is a really friendly guy, but he doesn't ever really talk to the girls who work for the company." She explained. "He's very polite and never ignores us when we talk to him, but he's very reserved when it comes to girls."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I overheard someone saying they blame his ex-wife, but I don't know much about her. I couldn't really explain it to you." She shrugged. "All I know is, if he doesn't really ever talk to the girls he works with, there must be something pretty special about you."

I felt my heartbeat pick up.


	16. My Heart Sings

**Chapter Sixteen:** **My Heart Sings**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

Over the next month, Bella and I spent a lot of time getting to know each other. We spent a lot of time talking over the phone once Mason went to bed and on short coffee dates during our lunch breaks. It was incredible to have a girl that was a friend and I was excited to finally ask her out.

I was the giving her the time she asked for, but I was starting to get anxious. I wanted to be a gentleman, but on the other hand, I hadn't felt this way about a girl since I first met Lauren. That was five years ago and...I was ready for something more. I'd been waiting for the perfect moment to ask her out on a date and, like the girl I was, I was even starting to plan for our perfect date.

Bella deserved perfect after everything she'd been through.

Just as I was getting completely impatient, I got the sense that she was happy. She'd cried for Mike and seemed like she was genuinely happy with her life the way it was going. Her and Katie were getting along really well, she was helping Jake's wife prepare for the baby and she told me the store had been thriving.

It was now or never and I'd never wanted anyone so much before.

"Bella?" I asked as I twiddled my thumb under the table as we got lunch.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I was wondering...you seem to be happy...I wanted to..."

"Go ahead," She smirked. "Ask me out." I nearly choked.

"Ah...okay." The last time I had been this nervous was when Lauren told me she was pregnant. It was kind of ridiculous and really pathetic, but I couldn't help myself. Bella was everything I'd ever wanted and I was already falling in love with her. I would go slow with her, but I had to at least be honest with myself.

"Edward,"

"Will you go out with me...tomorrow?" I spit out. "My parents are taking Mason for the evening."

"I would love to go out with you," She blushed. I sighed in relief. "So, tell me, what will we be doing on this date?"

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't know, do I?" She giggled.

"Do you trust me?" I repeated.

"Yeah,"

"Good, then it's a surprise."

"No fair,"

"You said you trusted me."

"I do but..."

"No arguing," I laughed as I looked at my watch. My lunch break was ending since I had to drive back to the site and I needed to get going. I hated when we had to stop spending time together, but now that we had our date set, I didn't hate it as much.

When I got back to work, the day passed much quicker with something to look forward to on Saturday night. When Dad let us go for the night, I drove over to Emmett and Rosalie's to pick Mason up and smiled when I saw her cuddled up on the couch with him. Rose had always been the one I was most wary about when it came to caring for Mason when he was younger, but now I couldn't remember why. Sure, when you first met her she wasn't the friendliest, but it didn't take much time to grow to love her.

She was amazing with Mason and she was going to be an amazing mother when the baby came.

"Did you do it?" Emmett asked as he came up from behind me and scared the shit out of me. I nearly punched him, but he was able to grab my arm before I did anything.

"Shit, Em, you scared the hell out of me." I hissed as he dragged me into the kitchen so we wouldn't disturb Mason and Rosalie. "Do what?"

"Ask Bella out," He shrugged. When I stayed quiet, his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and clapped me on the back. "It's about fucking time,"

"She asked me to give her some time, Emmett. I wasn't going to ask her out a day after her fiance cheated on her."

"I'm not saying you should have, but I was starting to think you were never going to ask her." He shrugged. "Dude, are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"You're getting all pale."

"I am not,"

"You want me to get a mirror?" He asked and I just shook my head as he sat down at the table with me. "Edward, Bella isn't Lauren."

"I know,"

"You say you do, but...I'm not totally convinced."

"Why not?"

"Call it big brother intuition." He whispered. "She's not going to leave you the way Lauren did."

"We aren't even together yet, so this doesn't really matter..."

"Edward,"

"Yeah, she could leave. She could leave at any second and leave me alone with Mason again." I bit my lip. "Lauren and I were married with a baby and she still left. What's holding Bella or anyone else to me?"

"Lauren was a bitch,"

"She wasn't when we met and fell in love,"

"You're right, you never can be one hundred percent sure when it comes to people leaving, even if there is a ring on your finger."

"See?"

"But, if you don't at least try and be vulnerable, you're going to raise Mason alone for the rest of his life and you'll...be alone when he grows up. Do you really want that?"

"Of course not,"

"Then you gotta have some faith, man, and trust that not everyone is Lauren." He met my gaze. "And, Bella seems pretty great from what you've told me about her."

"I can't let Mason get attached if she's just going to leave,"

"Then build that trust without bringing Mason into the picture," He shrugged like it was so simple. I nodded, still trying to process things. "This is good for you, little brother. Have some faith,"

"What's faith?" Mason laughed as he ran into the kitchen and climbed into my lap. I hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head as he tried to get away from me.

"Did you have fun with your aunt and uncle?"

"Aunt Rose showed me the baby in her tummy," He smiled as he pointed to her stomach. She was barely showing, but if you looked close enough, you could see the smallest bump.

"Oh yeah?"

"He's this big," He held his little hands too far apart for how far along she was, but it was so cute that he'd paid attention to the sonogram. Rose smiled down at him and handed me the sonogram and I got a little teary. Looking down at Mason, I missed when he was this small. I mean, I know he wasn't born yet at this stage, but...life was still relatively easy back then.

"How are you feeling, Rose?" I asked as Mason studied the picture again.

"The morning sickness isn't nearly as bad as it was at the start,"

"That's good. La...she was sick for like six months." I never said Lauren's name in front of Mason because he would just end up asking questions. I knew, one day he would ask questions, but for right now I was okay with him being oblivious.

I would never be ready for the day when he asked why his mother abandoned him only days after he was born.

"Ready to go home and eat some dinner, bud?" I asked, standing up and letting Mason slide off of my lap.

"What are we going to eat?"

"Something Grandma made us," Since I'd been working late with Dad, Mom had supplied us with enough casseroles to feed an entire army. They were good and I knew they were healthy, but I was afraid they would go bad before we had the chance to eat them.

* * *

The next day, I got Mason up and ready for his day with my parents and then...I wasn't sure what to do. I still had almost all day until I was supposed to pick Bella up for our date and I'd cleaned the apartment last night because of my nerves. I now realized that was a dumb idea and grabbed my keys to go hang out with Alice and Jasper.

Why I thought going to my sister's house would calm me down, I would never know.

I loved my sister, but she was bouncing off the walls when I walked in because she was just as excited as I was for this date.

"Where are you taking her?" She asked as we sat down on the couch.

"We're going to get dinner somewhere on the beach and then go to a concert on the beach."

"That's so romantic," She giggled. "What concert?"

"I don't know them, but I looked up a few of their songs and they were pretty good." I shrugged. "Is this a completely lame idea?"

"It's way better than when Jasper asked me out," She smiled, looking over at her boyfriend. She was getting antsy, I could tell. But I knew he had a plan for asking her to marry him and she just needed to be patient. Even though, I knew that word wasn't exactly in her vocabulary.

"Hey, I tried, okay?" He defended himself as he handed me a beer. "It's just a date, Edward. You'll be fine."

"Do you realize this is the first time in almost five years that I had a first date with someone?" They nodded. "So, yeah. It's a little nerve-wracking."

"Bella's awesome, though," Alice smiled.

"How do you know?"

"I feel like I know her by the way you talk about her,"

"I don't talk about her that much," I argued.

"Ummm, yeah you do, Edward." Jasper stepped in.

I spent a few hours with my sister and Jasper before leaving to get ready for the date. I knew I wanted to look nice, but I needed to be comfortable. Thankfully, we were going to the beach so khaki shorts and a polo would work and I didn't have to feel like even more of a girl. Once I was showered, shaved, and dressed there was nothing else to do except drive over to pick Bella up for our date.

When I pulled up in front of her building and reminded myself to man up. I'd been way too sensitive and girly over the last few weeks and I did not need Bella to see that weird side of me. I took a deep breath as I got out of my car and buzzed to get into the building. She let me in and I took the stairs two at a time until I reached her floor. I knocked on the door three times and shoved my hands in my pockets. When she opened the door, my eyes bugged out of my head.

She looked gorgeous.

"You look beautiful," I smiled.

"Well, you wouldn't tell me what we were doing so I had to choose something good for every occasion." She giggled as she walked back inside to grab a jacket and her purse. "You ready?"

"I'm always ready," I said stupidly as she pulled her door shut. I walked her down the car and opened her door for her so she could slide in.

"What a gentleman,"

"Always," I laughed as I shut the door and ran around to my side. wHen I got into the car, I buckled my seatbelt and turned the car and looked at her one last time. "Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," She said, practically mocking me for what I'd said early. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards the beach where we would be eating. The conversation while we drove was simple but needed. I could tell that she was always paying attention to what I said even though I wasn't always saying something particularly interesting.

I always had a feeling Lauren was never listening to me.

"Here we are," I whispered as I pulled into Eleven South's parking lot. She got out of the car before I could open her door for her and we walked into the small, but quaint restaurant. I gave the man my name and we were walked to a table outside and we were given menus to look over."

"Wow, everything looks so good." She smiled as she looked over the menu.

The conversation was so easy as we looked over the menu and eventually ordered. There was just something about her that made things so simple and I could listen to her laugh all day if I could. Maybe I was falling for her way too fast and way too hard, but what was life without a little risk? Hell, if I hadn't taken a risk and convinced Lauren to keep the baby, I would have never had the life I have now.

Without a little risk, I wouldn't have Mason in my life.

"Edward?" She asked as we were halfway done with our meal. I looked up and met her beautiful, brown eyes with mine. "What happened with Lauren?"

"We got divorced shortly after Mason was born..."

"I know, but...if you're okay with it, I'd like to know more."

I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts. "Lauren and I hadn't been dating for very long when we found out she was pregnant. She'd gotten pregnant after we'd been seeing each other for just three months." I paused, remembering the day she told me she was pregnant. "She called me from Planned Parenthood because her car wasn't turning on and no one else was answering."

"She wasn't going to tell you," Bella gasped as she realized what Lauren had done. "What happened to...change her mind?"

"She never told me," I whispered. "I wanted to keep the baby, but Lauren was so against the idea and we fought for months before she finally agreed to keep the baby and marry me."

"Were you marrying her out of..obligation?"

"Partly," I nodded. "Even though we fought a lot leading up to the engagement and the wedding, I did love her. Maybe it wasn't this...magical love everyone talks about, but I didn't hate her...not yet." I gulped. "By the time Mason was born, we'd been married for about two and a half months. She left the day after we brought him home from the hospital."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that."

"I was angry with her for a long time," I admitted. "Not just for asking for a divorce, but for abandoning our son. Whether we were in love or not, she was his mother and she just left him without batting an eye."

"Has she...tried to contact you to meet him?"

"Not once," I shook my head. "On one side, I'm glad she left when she did. She never got the chance to really hurt Mason because being with only me is all he's ever known. He's never had to deal with the heartache that would have come with her leaving when he was two or something."

"I think you're doing a pretty good job," She smiled as her cheeks turned pink.

"How do you know?"

"It's so obvious that Mason is your entire life and that you would die for him," She smiled. "And I think that's what a child that young needs. I think as long as they feel loved and protected, then they've got a pretty good life."

"You have no idea how much...that means to hear you say that," I whispered. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Tell me something you've never told me before."

"When I was twelve, my mom was killed in a car accident." She hung her head. "It's been Dad and me ever since."

"That's why you're so attached to the store,"

"What?"

"From what you've told me about Mike, he doesn't seem like some evil guy who was out to get you and make you suffer," I shrugged because that was the impression I'd gotten from her as she explained what caused the fight that inevitably led to him cheating. "I'm not trying to justify what he did, that just what I think,"

"Okay?"

"Most people aren't that loyal to their parents and their parent's hardware store, that's all I'm saying. Your Mom was a huge part of that store it seemed like. It makes sense that you were so opposed to moving away from Florida."

"I guess," She shrugged and I was worried I'd ruined our date. But, when she looked up at me and smiled, I knew we were still okay. "I've never really thought about it like that."

"Like what?"

"I always thought that I wanted to stay in Florida because I was all Dad had left, but I never really thought I wanted to stay in Florida because Dad and the store are really the only connections I have left to my Mom."

"I'm happy I could help you come to this realization," I smiled. "I did take a basic psychology class in college."

"And you're not a professional psychologist?" She giggled. "I'm shocked!" She mocked me. Once we finished our meal, I paid our bill and walked her back out to my car. The concert wasn't very far from the restaurant and she looked at me with an eyebrow cocked as I parked at one of the public beach lots.

"What are we doing?"

"It's a surprise again," I winked as I got out of the car. We got onto the beach and there was already a decent crowd waiting for the band to come on. she looked at me and smiled broadly and I knew I'd made the right decision bringing her here. The concert wasn't anything super special, but I knew Bella was having a good time. The sun was just beginning to set as she grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the crowd and down the water's edge.

"Let's go for a walk," She whispered, entangling her fingers with mine. We walked along the water for a while until the sky was a bright pink and purple. "This is perfect."

"It is," I smiled as I kept my gaze on her. she turned and looked up at me and smiled. Before I knew what I was doing, I leaned down and gently pressed my lips to hers. It had the be the perfect kiss and before I could pull back, she had snaked her arms around my neck and pulled me closer to her. We stayed there for a few seconds before she pulled back, breathless.

"Hi," I smiled down at her, unsure of what exactly to say.

"Hey," She giggled as she wrapped her arms around my abdomen and looked out over the water again.


	17. Just That Simple Rush

**Chapter Seventeen:** **Just T** **hat Simple Rush**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

It had been the most incredible first date of my entire life. Edward was so sweet and attentive and funny. And, he was an amazing kisser which was just the icing on the cake. I didn't want the date to end, but I knew he had to get back to his son and we eventually got into his car so he could drive me home.

When he parked the car, he got out and walked me to my door like a gentleman. I really wanted to invite him inside, but this was our only first date. I didn't want to do anything too soon, so when we reached my door, I turned around and smiled at him.

"I had an amazing time," I smiled as he stepped closer to me.

"Me too," He nodded as he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to mine. I softly moaned into his mouth as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him impossibly closer to me. Without much room, he ended up pushing me against my door and I could feel him through my thin dress. We made out for a few more minutes before I pulled away, not wanting to do something we'd regret later.

"I'll see you later, Edward." I blushed as I turned to unlock my front door.

"Goodnight," He whispered as I pushed my door open and shut it. I leaned up against the door in total bliss and took a deep breath. I had never felt like this before, not even with Mike. That should have been my first clue that things shouldn't have lasted as long as they did, but all I could do now was move forward.

And I was excited to move forward with Edward.

"So?" Katie asked from our couch. Since I was so wrapped up in myself, I didn't even know she was home and I jumped as she spoke up. "How was it?"

"Have you ever had a completely perfect date?"

"Define perfect," She giggled as she stood up and we moved to the small kitchen. She made us some hot chocolate since it was late and we moved back to the living room. We sat down on the couch and got comfortable.

"He put so much thought into it," I explained. "He listened to me when I told him what kinds of food I like to eat and that I like any kind of music."

"Where'd he take you?"

"We went to eat and then there was a small concert on the beach. It wasn't a big band and there weren't many people there, but they were pretty decent." I explained. "But, it meant he also listened that I wasn't one to enjoy super extravagant things and this was so simple, but it was really sweet."

"I won't lie to you, he's been waiting all month for the right time to ask you out," She smiled. "He knew he had to wait, but I could tell he was getting kind of impatient. He really...really likes you."

"I...I love him." I admitted. "A lot."

"You should get marry in April."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." I giggled.

"Did you kiss?"

"We did," I smiled barely able to contain my excitement. "After we listened to the band for a bit, we went down and walked along the water and then...he kissed me."

"Oh...my god. That's like...the perfect first kiss."

"It wasn't our official first kiss, but that's the one I want to remember."

"What do you mean?" She asked and I explained that he'd kissed me while I was still with Mike and how I threw myself at him after the engagement ended. She agreed with me, though, and said I needed to tell people about that kiss when they asked about our first kiss.

Katie and I stayed up for almost two hours, talking about Edward and boys in general. She opened up more about her relationship with her ex-boyfriend and it made my heartache. She was so in love with him and ending things had taken all of her strength, but he was mentally abusive. She wasn't safe with him and it took a lot of guts to end things. She admitted that no one knew he'd been abusive and she just told people they didn't want the same things in life.

Which, was kind of true.

I didn't get to bed until nearly one in the morning and I regretted it in the morning. But it was good to stay up and get to know Katie a bit better. We had slowly been getting closer, but last night was the first time we'd really opened up to each other. When I started looking for a roommate, I never thought I would end up with a really good friend as well.

When I woke up, although I was tired, I was on cloud nine. I hadn't felt this good in ages and both Dad and Jake were smirking at me as I went upstairs to my office. Jake knew that Edward and I had been getting to know each other, but Dad didn't know anything about him. I felt like he needed some time to adjust to me being single before I dropped the bomb on him that I was already dating again.

It wasn't until lunch, though, that Jake kidnapped me and demanded to know all of the details.

"You've got it bad," He rolled his eyes as we ate at the diner down the street from the store.

"It was our first date," I argued. "It's still so new."

"And you had a sex dream about him right after you met," He reminded me and I felt my cheeks getting warm. "You've got it bad, Bella."

"I don't want to rush things,"

"You don't have to," He assured me. "Just...don't be afraid."

"Why would I be afraid?"

"I'm just saying after everything happened with Mike, it would be normal for your to be scared. And I don't think you should be. I've never met the guy, but from everything you've told me, he seems pretty trustworthy."

"I trust him," I nodded because I did. Sure the romantic aspect was new to our relationship, but we'd taken the time to really get to know each other. I wasn't afraid that he was going to break that trust. "I just...I think it would be best if we took our time."

"Me too."

"Really?"

"Bella, you've always been one to jump head first into everything you do," He smiled. "And, that's not a bad thing. You're passionate. But, it wouldn't be a bad thing to just slow down and smell the...roses."

"You want me to...smell the roses?"

"It's just a metaphor," He threw a french fry at me. "But, yeah. Just enjoy the less serious part of the relationship while you can."

"Okay," I nodded. "I'll...slow down and smell the roses."

"You'll never let me live that down, will you?"

"Probably not," I smirked.

* * *

Jake was right. I had always jumped head first into everything I did, including relationships. I didn't date too many guys, but I had always been way more invested in them than they were of me. I wasn't always the one with the broken heart, but I did tend to get hurt more often than not. But, with Edward, I didn't have the urge to rush things.

I guess that was the plus to having a real, grown up relationship. We had both been through a lot in the past and we were patient with each other. We didn't feel the need to be attached at the hip because we were secure enough in our relationship to know that wasn't necessary.

After we had been dating pretty seriously for about a month, he brought up a topic I was not expecting.

"Do you want to meet Mason?" He blurted out as he hung out at the store over his lunch break.

"Meet...Mason?"

"Yeah,"

"Your...son?"

"That would be the Mason I'm referring to, yes." He smiled, wiping his face with a napkin "You don't have to yet, but I thought I would ask."

"You want me to meet him?"

"I do, yeah."

"Don't you think it's a little...soon?"

"Maybe," He shrugged. "But, I've never done this so I don't know the right time."

"If you want me to..."

"Really, you don't have to."

"How would you want to do it?" I asked.

"Well, when Mom and Carlisle started seeing each other, she introduced him as her friend at first. It wasn't until they'd been dating for another few months that she told us they were...dating." He explained. "It seemed to work well for her, so I was thinking we could do that."

He wanted me to meet his son. That was huge.

"I mean..."

"You don't have to answer me right away," He added quickly. "I just thought I would bring it up."

"I want to," I nodded. "It's just kind of nerve-wracking."

"Why?"

"He's your son," I chuckled. "He's the most important person in your life."

"He is, but..." He trailed off, taking a deep breath. "You're pretty important to me too."

"I am?" He nodded and I felt tears filling in my eyes.

"Are you crying?" He asked gently as he reached out and cupped my cheek with his hand. "Why?"

"That's just...really sweet."

"I'm just being honest,"

"Yes, I would love to meet Mason." I nodded. "But, just as your friend for right now."

"Deal," He smiled, leaning in and gently kissing me.

Edward and I continued to date for another two weeks before he was absolutely ready to introduce me to Mason. It was something I never pictured myself doing, but I was crazy about Edward and meeting his son was inevitable. However, that didn't make it any easier because if Mason didn't like me, there was a pretty big chance things would have to end between Edward and me.

To make matters even more nerve-wracking, Edward's mother had insisted on setting up a dinner with his entire family for to meet Mason. Edward had argued with her, but she wouldn't budge and not only was I going to meet his son, I was going to meet his entire family.

"I'm really sorry you got dragged into this," He whispered as we pulled up in front of his parent's house. I gave him a weak smile and nodded at him because I knew he didn't want to do this.

His mother was someone who apparently couldn't take no for an answer.

"It's fine," I assured him because even though I was nervous, Edward was a good person which meant he probably came from a really good family. It was just a little unnerving because we'd only been seeing each other for a month and a half.

"I told them to be on their best behavior," He sighed as we walked up the front walk towards the front door.

"Edward, really, I don't mind," I assured him, reaching up and gently placing a kiss on his cheek for reassurance. I thought it was adorable how concerned he was about his family treating me right and making a good impression. In fact, he seemed more nervous for this dinner than I was and this was just a regular day for him. He rang the doorbell and squeezed my hand as we waited for someone to answer it.

"Hi, Edward" The woman who I assumed to be his mother greeted him when she opened the door.

"Hi, Mom." He smiled as she turned to look at me. "Mom, this is Bella. Bella, this is my mother, Esme."

"It is so nice to finally meet you," She gushed as she pulled me into a tight hug. I instantly warmed to her and hugged her back.

"Mom, where's Mason?" Edward asked as we stepped into the house and shut the front door.

"Outside with Jasper and Emmett." She smiled. Jasper? Now that wasn't a name you heard too often anymore. "Do you want me to go get him?" Edward looked down at me, silently asking if I was ready for this. I gave him a reassuring nod and he turned back to his mom.

"Yes," He sighed. I followed him into the kitchen where two other women and a man I assumed to his father were working. "Everyone, this is Bella. This is my sister, Alice, Dad Carlisle, and sister-in-law, Rosalie."

"It's nice to meet..." Before I could finish my sentence, his sister with the dark hair came up to me and gave me a tight hug. I thought it was odd at first, but I remembered Edward telling me his little sister was always overly friendly and hugged everyone she met if they were of any importance.

"We are going to be good friends, I can tell." She giggled once she let me go.

"Daddy!" A small voice screamed as I heard little footsteps on the tiled floor. I turned to see a little boy rushing over to Edward and Edward bent down and scooped him into his arms.

"Hey, buddy!" He smiled as he kissed Mason's cheek. "How was your afternoon with Grandma?"

"So cool!" He gushed. "We played superhero and Lego's and then Uncle Emmett took me outside and he played sea monster!"

"Sea monster?" Edward asked enthusiastically. "Were you scared?"

"No way!" The boy laughed. "Because me and Jasper were pirates and pirates are brave!"

"That's right, bud." Edward smiled brightly at the child and then looked over to me. He cocked his head to tell me to come over and I took a deep breath before walking closer to them. "Mason, this is my really good friend, Bella. Bella, meet Mason."

"Hi, Mason." I smiled shyly.

"I have a friend in preschool!" He informed us.

"Who is it this week?" Edward asked.

"Carter, we played with blocks together yesterday." Edward kept ahold of Mason for a little bit before he started wiggling to get down. He put him down and he zoomed off to somewhere else in the house just as Emmett and another guy walked into the kitchen and my eyes widened in surprise.

"Jasper?" I asked and the smaller of the two looked up at me and blinked a few times.

"Bella?" He smiled as he walked across the room and gave me a hug. "What are you doing here...wait...you're the Bella Edward can't shut up about?"

"Thanks, man," Edward rolled his eyes.

"That's me. What are you doing here?"

"He's my boyfriend," Alice smiled as she came and took his hand in hers. "How do you know each other?"

"We went to school together," I explained. "We were in a few Gen. Ed. classes freshman year."

"Yeah, she's the girl I was telling you about after Carmen's wedding," Jasper explained. "What a small world."

"No kidding," I smiled.

"Wait, so you know Carmen and Jake?" Alice asked.

"Jake and I grew up together. He works with me at my Dad's hardware store."

"This is...so weird." Edward laughed as he wrapped his arm around my waist. "Wait, so do we have to be worried that you two will ride off into the sunset together?"

"Nope, I'm pretty happy where I am," I smiled looking up at Edward.

"Phew, I was getting worried."

Once she announced we were ready to eat, Edward disappeared to find Mason and we sat down in the dining room.

It was probably one of the most pleasant evenings I'd ever had. Mason talked the entire time, but he also knew when to keep quiet so the adults could talk. He really was a sweet kid and I could really see Edward in him. His hair was a bit darker, but his eyes were the same shade of green and I could tell he'd probably be a ladies man when he got older.

His family was also pretty incredible. They were so kind and didn't ask me really difficult and personal questions. They simply just wanted to get to know me and I didn't really understand why Edward was so worried during the week leading up to it.

"Mason is going to have a sleepover with my parents tonight," Edward whispered in my ear as I helped his Mom dry some dishes. I felt goosebumps going up and down my spine as he gently kissed the back of my neck and had to take a deep breath to regain composure.

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, turning in his arms as his mother pretended not to be listening to everything we said.

"Yep," He nodded, kissing my forehead. "I'm going to go tuck him in and then we can go."

"Okay," I nodded as he kissed me one last time and then went into the living room to grab his son. I let out a sigh and looked over at Esme and blushed.

"Don't mind me,"

"Sorry,"

"Oh, honey. Don't apologize." She smiled brightly. "It's been a long time since I've seen Edward this happy."

"Oh," I could feel myself blushing again.

"But, I do want to ask you one thing." She bit her lip as Jasper walked into the kitchen.

"Okay,"

"How much has he told you about Lauren?"

"Just that they got pregnant and married young and that she walked out on him and Mason right after he was born."

"There's so much more to the story," Jasper hung his head low.

"My son falls in love head over heals and he falls in love fast. That's how he ended up with Mason and that's how he ended up married to Lauren."

"He told me he didn't love her by the time Mason was born."

"That's what he tells everyone," Jasper whispered. "But, it was obvious. She drove him crazy and all the did was fight, but he loved her. And he was crushed when she left him."

"I knew that much,"

"I'm not telling you this to scare you, I just want you to understand my son better," Esme whispered. "He cares about you, Bella."

"I know," I nodded as he walked back into the room and lifted an eyebrow at us.

"What's going on?"

"We're just talking," Esme lied as she went back to doing the dishes. Edward shrugged it off and turned back to face me.

"Ready?"

"Yeah," I nodded. We took our time saying goodbye to his family and headed out to the car. What Esme told me wouldn't stop replaying in my head so as we drove away from the house, I turned the radio down and turned to look at him.

"What's up?"

"I'm in this, Edward." I sighed and he looked at me confused. "This relationship...I'm in this and I'm not going anywhere."

"Me too," He nodded sweetly. I knew he didn't completely get where I was coming from, but he needed to know that I wasn't going to leave him if things got hard. I was already falling in love with him and although I couldn't tell him that quite yet, he needed to know that I was committed.


	18. And It All Makes Sense to Me

**Chapter Eighteen:** **And It All Makes Sense to Me**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

"I'm in this, Edward," Bella whispered as we drove away from my parent's house. "This relationship...I'm in this and I'm not going anywhere."

"Me too," I admitted because, honestly, I had been in this way before she was. I contemplated where to take her since it was still kind of early, but with Mason gone, I decided to take her back to my place. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea, but this would be the first time we could truly be alone without any interruptions.

"Where should I take you?" I asked because I didn't want to assume anything. She looked at me as we sat at a stop sign and licked her lips. "Bella?"

"Your place," She whispered so softly I barely even hear what she'd said. I tried not to act too excited as I pressed the gas again and reached over to grab her hand. We made the rest of the short drive to my apartment building and I parked in my usual spot. I got out of the car and walked over to her door to open it for her.

I grabbed her hand and led her upstairs to our apartment. I prayed Jessica wouldn't be lurking in the hallway and I sighed in relief when the hall was clear. I grabbed my key and turned it in the lock, and pushed the front door open.

"Welcome to Casa Cullen," I smiled as she walked into the living room and looked around. IT wasn't much and it was kind of messy since Mason hadn't done a very good job listening to me that morning, but it was home.

"It's really cute," She smiled as she looked at the photos on the wall. That was something Mom and Alice had done for me when we moved in and the pictures had only changed a bit. "Oh, wow."

"What?" I asked as she giggled at a picture of Mason when he was a year old, wearing one of my construction hats in nothing else but his Sesame Street diaper.

"He was really stinking precious. He still is."

"That's my favorite picture of him," I told him. "It was a really hot day and he'd been miserable all day until I finally just let him walk around the shop naked. It was a Saturday, so I was just there working with my Dad and he crawled right over to my stuff and managed to put the hat on. Thankfully Mom was there or we probably wouldn't have this picture." I paused. "Sorry, I'm talking too much."

"Dad did the same thing when I was little," She giggled. "I think it's something all parents do, whether they realize they're doing it or not."

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked, moving away from the wall and into the kitchen. "I've got Pepsi, water...orange juice and milk and beer. Sorry, I'm not used to having girls in the apartment."

"Hey, I love orange juice." She laughed. Man, she had a cute laugh. "A beer would be great, actually."

"Perfect," I got two out of the fridge, opened them and handed one to her.

"When are you moving into the house?" She asked as we sat down on the couch together.

"Soon," I sighed. "Mom and Alice are starting to put their finishing touches on it. The house would have been done a lot sooner if I wasn't doing it alone, but I'm just glad we're almost done. This is actually ahead of the schedule I'd made up."

"I can't wait to see the finished project."

"Me too. I haven't seen it since construction was done and I let my Mom and sister take over."

Suddenly, I could feel the electricity in the air. I put my beer bottle on the coffee table and leaned in, cupping her cheek with my hand. I gently pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned in to kiss her. I gently pressed my lips against and she moaned softly. She broke away for a second to put her beer down and grabbed my neck to pull me back to her.

She crashed her lips into mine and threaded her fingers through my hair. I moved my hands to rest on her hips and she began wiggling in my arms. I moaned loudly as she moved her tongue along my bottom lip and I opened my mouth, letting her in.

Fuck, she was a good kisser.

Just as we were getting into a grove, she pushed herself up and swung one leg around my hips and straddled me. I moaned loudly as she settled right onto my already painfully hard cock and started moving her hips in small circles. I pulled back and moved my lips to her jaw and started kissing her neck and she threw her head back. I moved to the neckline of her dress which was just short enough to expose the tops of her breasts.

"Fuck," She whispered as she continued to ground against me. She reached up and pulled the straps of her dress down, which pulled the top of her dress down, exposing her lace bra. I licked my lips hungrily as I stood up and had her wrap her legs around my waist. I carried her to my bedroom and laid her down on my bed.

"Ouch," She yelled and I pulled back, afraid I'd hurt her.

"What is it?" She reached behind her back and pulled out a Hot Wheel and began giggling. Of course, Mason had been playing in here earlier and hadn't cleaned up like I'd asked him to. "I am so sorry."

"Just kiss me," She grabbed my neck and pulled me close to her again. I kissed her again as she began unbuttoning my shirt. Once the last button was undone, she pushed my shirt over my shoulders and dropped it on the floor. I pulled back a bit to see her eyes dark with desire as she traced the lines of my muscles with her fingers.

I pulled her dress the rest of the way off, leaving her in just her bra and underwear. Yes, I had seen her in her bra and underwear before when she came home with me drunk, but this was so much better. She had an amazing body, yet she looked subconscious as my eyes roamed.

"You are the most beautiful girl I have ever seen," I whispered as I kissed her again. Suddenly, her insecurities melted away as she hitched one of her legs over my hips, making wonderful contact with my dick. I thrust up and caused both of us to moan loudly.

"Take off your pants," She demanded breathlessly.

"As you wish," I smiled as I moved to undo my belt and then remove my shorts, leaving me in just my boxer shorts. I fell on top of her again and reached behind her and found the clasp of her bra. I gently undid it and pulled her straps down, revealing her naked breasts to me.

"Fuck," I moaned.

"Like what you see?"

"Absolutely." I kissed her collarbone and made my way to the tops of her breasts. I cupped one of them with my hand and then closed my mouth around one of her nipples, biting down gently.

"Oh..my god!" She gasped as she tightened her hands in my hair and wiggled beneath me. I kept this going for a little bit before switching boobs and she continued to wiggle beneath me, which was starting to make my boxers very uncomfortable. Without warning, she used her legs to push my boxers down my legs, leaving me completely bare.

I brought my lips back to hers and I hooked her underwear with my fingers and pulled them off of her. Once she was completely naked, I took one last time to look her over before I positioned myself at her entrance.

"Wait," She gasped. "Condom," Right. I just wanted to be inside of her, but we weren't going to be able to do anything without one. I loved Mason, but I was not about to have another kid. I fumbled in my nightstand drawer and pulled one out. I ripped the foil packet with my teeth and pushed myself onto my knees. I rolled the latex barrier down and fell back on top of her.

"You're sure?" I asked in one last attempt at chivalry. She smiled and nodded as I positioned myself again. I gently pushed inside of her and had to still in order to keep myself together. It had been a long time since I'd been with anyone and Bella was so fucking tight. I felt I was going to lose it already and I was only halfway in.

"Fuck, Edward," She moaned as she dug her fingernails into my shoulder. "Please, fuck...please move." She begged and I thrust deep inside her.

"Fuck," I cried as I began moving. I slammed into her again and again and I knew I was doing something right because she started shaking beneath me. She threw her head back in pleasure as she wrapped her legs around my hips again, creating a whole new, wonderful angle.

"Yes! Fuck, Edward! God...yes!" She moaned as my fingers dug into her hips. I brought one of my hands to cup her breast and twisted her nipple in my fingers. She bit her lip and I knew she was getting close. We were both covered in a thin layer of sweat and she was moving erratically beneath me.

"Bella," I moaned as I felt myself getting close.

"YES! Fuck!" She cursed as I felt her walls clamping around me. I watched her face as she came around me and right as she finished, and I stilled inside her. I felt my body sag as I breathed heavily and felt her hands come back to my hair. She gently played with it while we both came down from her high and I reluctantly pulled out of her. I grabbed some tissues from the nightstand and gave some to her to clean up. I pulled the used condom off and tossed it into the trashcan next to my bed.

I reached out and pulled her close to me. She rested her head on my chest and I wrapped my arms tightly around. This was as close to perfect as if could get and I never wanted to let her go.

"That was..." She trailed off. "Incredible."

"Yeah, it was," I whispered, turning my head and kissing the top of her head.

Bella and I fell asleep in each other's arms and when I woke up early the next morning, she was laying on her stomach, breathing heavily. I smiled as I saw her hair was everywhere, hiding her face. I gently pushed her hair away and kissed her cheek. I gently pushed the sheets back and got out of bed. I pulled a clean pair of boxers on and headed into the kitchen.

I was just finishing up the pancakes when I heard my bedroom door open. She came out, wearing one of my t-shirts and fuck...she looked so hot. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun and she was rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Good morning, beautiful," I smiled as she came over to me and kissed me gently.

"Morning," She groaned and I turned to pour her a cup of coffee. "Thank you,"

"I remember how much you need coffee in the morning." I smiled as I put the last pancake on her plate. "I hope you like pancakes."

"They're my favorite breakfast food."

"Mine too."

"Then it was totally destiny that we met." She smiled as she took a big sip of coffee. As we ate, we talked more about how she knew Jasper and I would never have guessed they were friends. The University of Florida was a pretty big school and I just thought it was so weird that they had become friends out of everyone at that school. I never wanted to leave our little bubble, but unfortunately, Dad Duty called and I needed to get showered and dressed so I could pick Mason up from my parents.

"I hate that we have to cut this short," I sighed as we got dressed after our shower together. If I thought last night in bed was amazing, nothing could have compared to the shower. It was fucking incredible and I just wanted to stay there.

"I know, but hey...we got a lot more time together last night and today than usual."

"I definitely have to thank my parents," I smiled as she sauntered over to me in just her bra and panties. "No, we have to go."

"What am I doing?" She asked, her voice low and seductive.

"You're teasing me," I practically panted.

"I don't know what you're talking about," She whispered as she kissed the hollow in my neck. I moaned loudly, but just as I was about to push her back to the bed, she walked away and pulled her dress on.

"You're evil," I shook my head as I finished buckling my belt.

"You know what they say."

"What do they say?"

"Leave them wanting more," She smiled, walking past me. I took a deep breath, adjusting myself in my shorts, and followed her into the living room. I grabbed what I needed and led her downstairs to my car. When I dropped her off, I walked her to the door and knowing Katie was inside was the only thing from taking her inside and fucking her senseless before going to pick my son up.

"I had an amazing time," She smiled sweetly as I held her. "And I don't just mean the sex."

"I'll call you tonight?" I asked and she nodded. I watched as she walked inside her apartment and walked down to my car in total bliss. When I got to my parent's house, Alice and Jasper were sitting with my Mom at the kitchen table as Dad played with Mason in the backyard.

"Hello," Jasper smirked. "You have a good night?"

"Jasper, really?" I asked, my eyes going back and forth between him and my Mom.

"Edward, honey, I know you aren't a virgin," She rolled her eyes as she stood up and poured me a cup of coffee. "Mason is proof of that."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean I want to talk about my sex life in front of you."

"What's a sex life?" Mason's squeaky voice asked as he ran towards me. I closed my eyes in disbelief and was super thankful his attention span was the size of a pea. "Daddy, we had a sleepover last night."

"I know, I missed you."

"I woke up and then woke them up and we had a sleepover in the living room." He told me. "Grandpa made a fort with pillows and blankets."

"Why'd you wake everyone up, Mason?"

"I dunno," He shrugged as he wiggled to get down and walked over to Alice who pulled him into her lap. "I missed you, Daddy."

"I missed you too, bud," I ruffled his hair and pulled my parents out of the kitchen and into the living room. "He hasn't woken up in the middle of the night in forever unless he was sick."

"It's fine, son." Dad tried to assure me, but this was out of character. "I think he just wanted the closeness."

"Did you try and put him back to bed in his room?"

"We tried, but he cried until your Dad went to build the fort in the living room."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Edward, he had a weird night," Mom shook her head. "He probably would have woken you up if he was at home, but he wasn't. And once we had the fort made, he fell right back to sleep and slept until morning. It's normal."

"Okay," I was a person of routine so once we had one, it stressed me out if that routine was broken. It made me kind of nervous when he did things that weren't normal for him, but I tried to let it go and I would see what happened when I put him to bed that night.

"He already ate breakfast if you wanna take him home," Mom told me as we walked back into the kitchen where Alice was letting him have chocolate chips from the pancakes Mom had made.

"Alice," I scolded, scooping Mason into my arms. "It's nine in the morning."

"Sorry," She shrugged.

"When you have kids, I'm going to do this kind of stuff with my nephew...or niece."

"Can we go to the park?" Mason asked, oblivious to what was happening.

"Sure, buddy." I nodded, kissing his cheek and setting him on the ground. "Go get your backpack." I watched as he little legs ran out of the room and listened as he walked up the stairs. We said our goodbye's and headed to the car. I buckled Mason into his seat and we headed off to the nearby park, which happened to be Mason's favorite.

"Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa?" I asked as I took his hand while we walked across the parking lot to the playground.

"Yeah, the fort was so fun."

"Mason?"

"Yeah?" He looked up at me, raising his little hands to shield his eyes.

"Did you like Bella?"

"Uh-huh," He said as he pulled me faster to the playground. I let go of his hand once we reached the mulch and watched as he ran over to the jungle gym. I watched carefully as he climbed because even though nothing serious happened, my mind always flashed back to that day when he fell. I knew it wasn't anyone's fault, but I was just a tad more cautious when we were here.

After he tired himself out, we headed home and he played quietly while I made us lunch. I set his peanut butter and banana sandwich at his place and put him in his booster seat. He ate pretty slowly since he was so tired and he was practically falling asleep when I picked him up. I carried him to his bedroom and gently laid him down, and didn't even need to read him a book. He was out like a light and I wondered how long he'd been up before they made the fort in the living room.

Since I'd spent the night with Bella, I knew I probably wouldn't see her tonight and most likely wouldn't see her until lunch on Tuesday since I was onsite on Monday. I really didn't want to spend so much time apart, but this was my life as a single father. I wanted to find a good balance, but Mason would always come first. And, my parents and siblings had been super helpful lately, I didn't want to keep them asking to watch him.

"Daddy?" Mason asked sleepily when I woke him up from his nap.

"Yeah?"

"Is Bella your girlfriend?"

Um...what?

"Where did you hear that?"

"Aunt Alice when we ate pancakes." I was going to kill her.

"What would you say if she were?"

"What does that mean?"

"It means..." How did I explain this to a four-year-old? "You know how Jasper is Aunt Alice's boyfriend?" He nodded, but I knew he wasn't putting it together. "It's like that."

"Cool," He shrugged as he pulled a Lego set out and began building.

Should I be grateful Alice was a pain and had let it out in front of Mason?


	19. Take My Hand

**Chapter Nineteen: Take My Hand**

* * *

 **Bella's POV**

"So?"

"So what?"

"Jacob Black, I swear to God!"

"Whoa, what's with the hostility?"

"What is the gender of your baby you, idiot?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips as he stocked a shelf. He'd just gotten back from taking Carmen to her doctor's appointment and he mentioned that the baby was finally in a good position so we could see. He knew I wanted to know and he was just being an ass about it.

"We're having a..." He trailed off just to annoy me.

"Jake!"

"A boy." He sighed contently. I knew he'd been hoping for a boy because he knew boys. Carmen, being the awesome woman she was, would have been able to deal with either but Jake was nervous about having a girl. Plus, I knew he'd always wanted his own like mini-me running around.

"Ahhh!" I screamed, jumping up and down and tightly wrapping my hands around his neck. "You're having a boy. You're going to be a dad."

"You just realize that?"

"Kinda!" I squealed, hugging him tightly again.

"Whoa, what's going on back here?" A familiar voice chuckled as I let go of Jake. "Should I be concerned?"

"Yep," I giggled, walking over to Edward and pecking him on the lips. "Jake and I are actually planning on running away together. We figured Carmen will be just fine on her own and if she isn't, she can always give you a call. Mason would probably love a little brother."

"You're having a boy?" Edward asked, completely ignoring my sarcasm.

"Just found out a little bit ago," He nodded. "That's why Bella was so handsy when you walked in."

"You two are ridiculous." I rolled my eyes as Jake continued to stock the shelf.

"Congratulations." Edward extended his arm and Jake took it. "If my brother and sister-in-law have a girl, you can have some of Mason's old stuff."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's still all in good condition and I have a box of stuff that is too sentimental to get rid of," He explained. "So, you can take what you need."

"That would be super helpful,"

"Rose should be finding out soon, so I'll let you know and you two can come over."

"Thanks," Jake nodded, picking up the empty box and heading back to the back room. I turned to Edward and smiled up at him.

"What?"

"That was very sweet."

"Hey, I know how expensive it is and how daunting it is trying to find stuff," He shrugged like it was no big deal. "And, I like Jake."

"But...don't you want to use that stuff one day?" I asked. "When you have...more kids?"

"You're not..." His eyes widened.

"No!" I yelled. "No, I'm not pregnant." He sighed in relief. "I'm just putting it out there."

"Bella, we aren't even close to the point of having kids, so if I can help him out now...then I will." He kissed my forehead. "Because, right now that stuff is taking up a lot of space in my parent's attic, not doing anything. If Jake is using it then it doesn't seem like a waste of money."

"Sometimes I hate it when you're so logical."

"I know, me too."

"I hate you,"

"No, you don't." He was right. I didn't hate him one bit.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. He told me last night when we talked on the phone that he couldn't come to get lunch with me because they were going to be on site today.

"I missed you," He shrugged.

"Weren't you on a site today?"

"It started storming where we were so we had to stop until it let up," He explained. "And, I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Alice and Jazz are taking Mason this weekend as his treat for behaving so well at school lately and I was wondering if..." He trailed off, raising his eyebrows up and down like a dork. "If you wanted to have a sleepover?"

"A sleepover?" I gasped. "Oh goodness, you think we're old enough for that."

"Oh, we are," He winked and leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. I never knew that the paint tools section of the store could be so romantic and sexy all at the same time.

"Yes, I would love to have a...sleepver," I giggled at his choice of wording.

"Hey, don't laugh at me."

"I wasn't laughing at you," I batted my eyelashes at him.

"Woman..."

"Edward!" Dad's voice boomed as he walked downstairs from his office. I turned in Edward's arms and saw Dad with a huge smile on his face, which was happening more and more often. I'd introduced Edward to my Dad shortly after I met his family and Dad took an instant liking to him. It was kind of incredible because he was only hostile for the one minute 'if you hurt my daughter, I'll hunt you down' speech and then welcomed him with open arms.

Even in high school, Dad was always quite cold and terrifying towards any of my dates. He even scared the hell out of Jasper when he surprised me at school one time and we were working on a project together.

"Hi, Charlie," Edward smiled, letting me go and extending his hand. Edward also took an instant liking to my Dad, telling me he was the totally opposite of Carlise and a nice change of pace.

I knew that if I had stayed with Mike, it never would have worked out. I only now realized how much my Dad and best friend couldn't stand him and it was a problem. I was just too stubborn to admit it when I was still with him. Being on cheated on would be something that always hurt, but ending it really was the best thing I could have done.

I was way happier with Edward after only two months than I was with Mike for our entire relationship.

"When are you going to come over for that game?" Dad asked as he moved behind the counter to check something on the computer.

"I promise, I'll be over as soon as someone takes Mason on a night the Dolphins are playing."

"Bring the boy with you," Dad suggested like it was nothing.

"Those games are on long after his bedtime."

"Damn kids. They ruin everything." Dad laughed, shutting the register drawer and going back upstairs to his office.

Things with Mason had been slow since I met him for the first time. Edward told me Alice let it slip that I was his girlfriend in front of Mason, but he didn't understand what that meant yet. So, we were still taking our time and I'd go over every once in a while for dinner. Edward wanted Mason to know me well enough and start building a trust before he sat him down and really explained to him what us being in a relationship meant.

I didn't mind, though. I really was enjoying just getting to know Mason without things being too complicated. He was a funny kid and I saw a lot of Edward in him. He was still obsessed with waffles and I promised him next time I came over, I'd introduce him to my Mom's famous waffle batter. He screamed for joy and hugged me so tightly, his little fingers were digging into my sides.

"Ready to go, babe?" Edward asked after I came back down from getting my purse. I nodded and took his hand and he led me outside to his car.

* * *

When I got home from work on Friday, Katie was waiting for me with a pre-date glass of wine and a huge fucking grin on her face.

"What is up with you?" I asked as we walked to my room so I could get changed. "Are you already drunk?"

"Nope, I just...have a date tonight." She bit her lip and I spun around to face her.

"What?" I smiled. "With who...wait?" I trailed off. "Jared?"

"Yeah," She sighed happily. Jared was the newest member at Cullen Construction and Katie had been crushing on him ever since he started. She'd been trying to get back out there after her breakup, but she didn't want to try again with just anyone. When Jared started working for them, she slowly got to know him and over time, feelings began to develop. We were constantly joking how cute it was that she had a school girl crush on him, but I knew it was more than that.

She was healing...just like she should.

"You gotta look hot," I smiled, pulling on a plain sundress and grabbing her hand to pull into her room. She sat on her bed, biting her lip as I raided her closet. "This is perfect."

"It's kind of slutty..."

"So, you put this jacket over it for dinner and then take it off when you get too...hot," I smirked, throwing the dress at her and leaving the room so she could try it on.

"I look like I'm trying too hard," She whined when she came out into the living room.

"No, you look like you're trying just the right amount."

"Really?"

"Absolutely." I nodded.

"So, I'm assuming Mason won't be there tonight?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because your dress is showing a bit more boob tonight than the last time you went over there for dinner," She smiled smugly.

"He's staying the night with Edward's sister." I twiddled my thumbs. "I'm going to stay over."

"Oh, where's your bag?" She asked and I cocked my eyebrow at her, waiting for it to click. "Oh," She giggled. "Right."

"There you go. Now, when is he getting here?"

"Not for another hour."

"Bummer," I sighed. "I gotta go, but you keep me posted."

"I will, I promise." She smiled as I stood up and grabbed my things.

"Have fun!" I called as I shut the front door. I made my way over to Edward's building and headed upstairs. When I got there, he was obviously waiting for me because I hadn't even knocked twice when the door opened and his lips crashed into mine.

"Well, hello to you too," I giggled as I pushed him inside and shut the door. He pushed me up against it and moved his hands to rest on my ass and I groaned in his mouth. Because he had Mason, there wasn't a lot of time to be like this together. I understood why we couldn't mess around with him in the next room, but it did feel good to have him pressed up against me again.

"What..about dinner?" I gasped as he moved down to kiss my neck and thrust his erection up.

"After," He growled, gripping the hem of my dress and pulling it up. I lifted my arms and he let the dress fall to the ground. I pushed off his shoulders and wrapped my legs around him. "Fuck, I want you so bad."

"Bed," I panted as I ran my fingers through his hair. He carried me carefully to his bedroom and laid me down. He pulled his t-shirt off as I unbuttoned his shorts and pushed them down until he was only in his boxers.

"You're so beautiful," He smiled as he reached around and unclasped my bra. Even though we weren't together like this often, he always made it a point to tell me I was beautiful. It was something that would have made me cry had he not been grinding against me the way he was. He was driving me crazy.

He was driving me crazy.

He pulled my panties down as I used my legs to push his boxers down, leaving us both completely naked. He returned his lips to mine as I reached over to his bedside table and opened the drawer. I blindly felt around for the box as he moved down to my nipple and bit down gently.

"Fuck, yes!" I cursed as a wave a pleasure came over me. I grabbed a foil packet and ripped it open with my mouth. He took it from me, covered himself and resumed his previous position on my other nipple as he entered me.

"Fuck," He growled as he caught my lips in a passionate kiss. I fisted my hands through his hair as he thrust deep inside of me, meeting that sweet spot every time. He was so incredibly good at this and every time was amazing. He began to speed up as I kissed him again. He moved his hand in between us and began circling my sensitive clit and I already felt myself shaking beneath him.

"Let go for me, baby," He whispered and I came hard around him. He followed almost immediately and fell limp on top of me. I pushed his hair back and kissed the top of his forehead as we both caught our breath. As much as I wanted to stay like this with him, my stomach growled in protest and we both decided it was time to start making dinner. I pulled on my bra and undies and he threw me one of his t-shirts to slip into as he pulled on a pair of boxers and sweats.

"What do you want for dinner?" He asked as he pulled me into the kitchen. I always offered to help him make our meal, but he always insisted on cooking by himself.

"What do you got?"

"You're in luck," He smiled as I sat down on the counter. "I just went shopping this morning after dropping Mason off at school."

"I am lucky," I laughed as he came and pushed my legs open. I settled my hands on his shoulders as he kissed my neck, eliciting a small moan from me. "Edward,"

"Yeah?" He continued his assault on my neck.

"We have to have...oh god," I moaned as he brought his hand up and palmed my breast through the thin fabric.

"We have to what?"

"Have some control," I shut my eyes and bit my lip.

"Why?" he whispered. "We have all the time in the world for once,"

"Exactly. And I don't want our alone time to be all about sex." I pushed him away no matter how good he was making me feel. I felt bad because I could see the sizable bulge in his sweats, but I wanted to actually have a date with him. Not just sex.

"You're right," He nodded, stepping away. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I assured him. "But, I really am starving."

"Want me to just whip up some pasta and meatballs?"

"Sure," I nodded, jumping off the counters and moving to the fridge where the ground beef was. "I'm helping this time."

"You don't have to."

"Look, I know you're used to doing everything on your own, but you don't have to." I smiled at him, gently cupping his cheek with my hand. "And I want to help."

"Pans are in this cupboard," He sighed as he pointed to a bottom cupboard. I winked at him and got to work making balls out of the meat. We worked well together and had dinner ready in no time. He set the table for us as I was scooping the meatballs into the red sauce and he poured us both a glass of wine.

"How's Rose been?" I asked as we ate our food. I'd seen his family a few times since we'd first had dinner with them and I was really growing to love them. Since it had been just me and Dad most of my life, it was nice to be around a big family. I was actually kind of jealous that he always had someone around. I loved Dad and Jake, but I'd always craved siblings.

"She's less cranky lately," He explained. "I think they're just excited to find out what they're having. Rose is a planner and she can't plan much until she knows."

"So Emmett's cool with knowing the gender?"

"He wants it to be a surprise, but he wants to keep Rosalie calm and happy." He smiled. "So, I think he's going to do whatever it takes to do that."

"You want them to have a girl, don't you?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a hunch," I shrugged. "I remember when my aunt had her first baby, Mom wanted her to have a boy because she'd had a girl."

"I think we all want her to have a girl," He nodded. "Especially Alice."

"When is Jasper ever going to pop the question?"

"Soon. We all thought he was going to ask her around the holidays, but he chickened out telling everyone it was too cliche and he wanted it to be more of a surprise."

"How long have they been dating?"

"Almost four years," He rolled his eyes. "I mean you know Jasper. He always needed to make sure his assignments were perfect before he turned them in and I guess he just needed more time with her than most to be one hundred percent sure they were perfect for each other."

"That does seem like Jasper," I giggled, thinking back to when we had group projects and he was always way more invested than anyone else. "I'm really happy for them, I really missed Jasper when we drifted apart."

"I still can't believe you two know each other as well as you do," He whispered. "Jasper had always been really shy and he never seemed to have many friends."

"He had friends, he just preferred to be alone."

"Right," He nodded.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm really happy that your family is so involved and super pushy."

"You are?"

"I always wanted a big family," I admitted. "And they're obviously a big part of your life so I feel like they should be a big part of my life too."

"How did you..."

"How did I what?"

"Nevermind," He shook his head. "Bella...I have to tell you something."

"What?" I asked nervously as he scooted away from the table a little bit. He smiled as he grabbed my hand and gently pressed his lips against my hand. "Edward, you're scaring me."

"Bella, I'm falling in love with you," My breath hitched and my mouth fell open. He took this as a sign of rejection and I jumped from my seat and crawled into his lap.

"I love you too," I whispered and gave him a passionate kiss.


	20. Do What it Takes

**Chapter Twenty: Do What it Takes**

* * *

 **Edward's POV**

Bella and I spent the rest of our night together, snuggled on the couch while we talked and attempted to watch a movie. It was amazing having someone here with me who was over the age of four and not my family. It wasn't that I didn't have friends my age, it was just hard to see them a lot when I had Mason to worry about.

After one last tumble in my bed, we were both exhausted and I barely had enough energy to pull the sheet over top of us. I fell asleep watching Bella's breathing steady and realized just how lucky I was in that moment. I had this beautiful...perfect woman who I loved who loved me back and I was an incredibly spoiled man.

"Whoa!" I heard Mason's voice shriek as I felt the sun pouring in from the window. I knew he was with my sister so I didn't even bother opening my eyes because I figured this was about the time he normally woke up. "Good morning."

"Morning, Mason," I heard Bella whisper. "Mason!" She yelled as she scrambled and pulled the sheet up over her head.

"Mason!" Jasper yelped and I realized this was in fact not a dream. My son was really here in my bedroom with Bella naked beside me. I opened my eyes and shot up and glared at Jasper.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked as Jasper pulled Mason out of the room and Alice ran to the doorway. "Alice!"

"I'm sorry, but Mason didn't have any clean underwear in his bag!"

"Yes he did, I put two pairs in his bag before we left the house."

"Well he must have taken them out because I looked like ten times before I was sure he didn't have any," She shrugged. "I'm sorry, Edward, we told him to stay out of here."

"Just go!" I threw one of my pillows at her. "And if Mason starts asking questions, you're the one who's going to answer them for us."

"Okay," She blushed as she swung my door closed and I fell backward onto my remaining pillow. I looked over at Bella whose face was still covered by her pillow and began giggling.

"This isn't funny," She mumbled as I pulled the sheet away from her face. "Edward!"

"I'm sorry, I've just never had to deal with this before," I shrugged. "He wasn't supposed to be here or I would have locked our door."

"You're lucky the sheet was up around my chest," She buried her face in her hands.

"We are," I agreed. "Look, he's four. He probably won't even remember walking in on us and he definitely won't understand why you were in my bed."

"Do you think now is a good time to try and explain it to him that we're a couple?"

"We can try, but he probably won't really get it," I shrugged. "But it might be a good idea if you started coming over more regularly so he can really start to get to know you."

"Good,"

"Really?"

"Mason is your entire life, Edward," She smiled as I grabbed her hand and gently pressed my lips to it. "It seems fitting that he would be a part of my life too."

"Most girls would run in the other direction if they met a single father who's life was devoted to his son."

"I'm not most girls," She whispered. "Why is that so hard for you to understand?"

"I guess..." I trailed off and thought back to before Mason was even born.

 _"We're really doing this?" She asked anxiously as I dropped her off at her apartment the night before the wedding. The wedding wasn't going to be large and it would be mostly family, but my parents still insisted on having a rehearsal dinner._

 _"We are," I smiled as I leaned over the console and gently pressed my lips against hers. "Look, I know this isn't what either of us planned but we can do this. We can be a family," I gently pressed my hand against her growing belly._

 _"A family," She nodded nervously. "It's kind of unreal."_

 _"I know," I whispered. I gave her one last kiss before she got out of the car and headed up to her apartment. I waited for her text, telling me that she was safely inside before I headed towards my apartment. When I got there, Emmett was waiting for me with a glass of whiskey since I agreed not to drink at the rehearsal since Lauren couldn't._

 _"You okay?"_

 _"Yeah," I nodded, suddenly feeling unsure of this whole plan myself._

 _"It's natural to be a little nervous, Edward," He shrugged. "You're promising to spend the rest of your life with one person. I'm sure I'll be a little jittery too."_

 _"You're right," I nodded, chugging the whiskey he'd given me. After we talked for a little longer, I headed to bed but couldn't seem to fall asleep. I laid in bed for what seemed like hours as I thought about marrying Lauren. Sure I would have loved to wait and plan a proper wedding, but it didn't change how I felt. I loved her and we were ready for this._

 _In a few months, we'd be adding our baby to the mix and that just made me more excited._

 _The next morning, Emmett made sure I was up and ready in time to head over to the small church my Mother had found for the ceremony. It wasn't used for church services anymore, but they still allowed people to get married in it so we decided on having the wedding there instead of City Hall like we were originally planning._

 _"You ready?" Mom asked as she came into the small room my brother and I was waiting in. I nodded and she engulfed me in a huge hug before leaving to go sit in the sanctuary. I walked to the end of the aisle and waited for my bride. I couldn't stop smiling as she walked towards me in her white dress that showed her small baby bump._

 _"This is it," She smiled when she reached me and I grabbed her hand._

 _"Forever," I nodded as I leaned in and kissed her cheek._

"I guess it's hard for me to understand that even Mason's mother ran away from us," I shrugged. I hated thinking about it and I hated that she still had this much power over me, but if I was going to have a relationship with Bella then I needed, to be honest with her. "It's a feeling that I'll never forget."

"I meant what I said the night I met your parents," She whispered, cradling my head in her hands. "I'm committed to you and you're just going to need to trust that. And if you don't believe me then I don't think this is going to work out."

"I do trust that," I nodded.

"Then start showing me you trust me by not being surprised when I'm okay with watching the Lego movie with you and your son. Don't ask me twenty times if I'm sure that it's okay if we don't see each other that night because Mason had a bad day," She sighed. "I want to make this work, Edward, and I wouldn't have agreed to go out with you if I didn't fully know Mason was a part of the package."

"It's just...be patient with me. I haven't had to do this in a long time," I whispered. "I love you and of course I want this to work. It's just very new to me."

"Right," She nodded. "Come on, let me cook you breakfast."

"You don't have to..."

"I want to," She winked as she got out of bed and pulled on the t-shirt I had given her the previous night. I pulled on a clean pair of boxers and headed out to the kitchen where she was already cracking eggs and cooking bacon.

The two of us spent the rest of the morning together before we reluctantly said goodbye so I could pick Mason up from my sister's house. I hated when we had to part ways and it didn't get any easier whenever we said goodbye.

Once I dropped her off, I headed over to my sister's house to pick Mason up. When I got there I prayed he wouldn't ask me any questions. I really didn't want to have to try and explain why Bella was in my bed with me...especially since she wasn't dressed.

"Hey," Jasper whispered awkwardly when he opened the door. I pushed past him and smiled when I saw Mason with his head in Alice's lap sound asleep. "We are so sorry about this morning."

"Did he ask any questions?" Alice and Jasper looked at each other. "What did he ask?"

"He asked if you and Bella were married," Alice admitted.

"What? Why?"

"He heard somewhere that when you're married, you sleep in the same bed."

"Who the hell told him that?"

"I think he overheard it somewhere," Alice shrugged. "We're so sorry, Edward. You know we wouldn't have come over if..."

"Daddy?" His small voice asked sleepily.

"Hey, bud," I knelt down next to him and pushed his hair off his forehead. He really needed a haircut. "Where's Bella?"

"She's at her home, Mason."

"Why?"

"Because I needed to come here and pick you up so we could spend the day together finishing up the house."

"Why didn't Bella come?" He asked. "Aren't you married?"

"No, we aren't married, Mason."

"You were in the same bed," Damn my son was too smart for me. "And you sleep in the same bed when you're married."

"Not all the time, buddy."

"Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we have a sleepover with Bella tonight?" He asked and my chest tightened. I really wanted her to sleepover again but there needed to be boundaries. At least until they got to know each other better.

"Not tonight, Mason."

"When?"

"Soon."

"How soon?"

"Mason, why don't you go show your Dad what you made with the clay today?" Alice suggested and before I could blink he was zooming towards their small office. "Again, we are so sorry."

"You're going to be the one's who deal with this if he can't let it go," I warned. "I'm not kidding. Things with Bella and I are still so new. I need to make sure she sticks before the three of us have sleepovers together."

"It'll stick," Jasper said so optimistically.

"How do you know that, Sherlock?"

"I know Bella," He shrugged. "She's very loyal."

"Loyalty doesn't mean anything some of the time."

"You have got to get over Lauren!" Alice shrieked. "What she did was awful but the odds of Bella doing that are like...very small. Just trust her. Not many girls would be willing to date a single father and she's in love with you and your son already!"

"Daddy?" Mason asked as he walked up behind me. "Who's Lauren?"

"Thanks. You guys are doing an awesome job today," I said under my breath as I pulled Mason into my lap. "What'd you make?"

"It's our new house," He smiled, completely forgetting his question about who Lauren was.

"Mason, this is awesome. Can we put it in our real house?"

"Yeah!" He giggled. "In my room?"

"I was thinking the living room," I winked. "Mason, go get your things packed up. I promised your Grandmother we'd be at the house today to approve of the new yard."

"Okay!" He smiled and jumped off of my lap and rushed to the guest room he took over whenever he stayed the night.

"Thanks again for taking him," I rolled my eyes as I stood up. "But next time...let him wear dirty underwear for a few hours."

"Deal," Alice blushed as I picked Mason up and carried him to the car. I got him to the car, threw his things in the trunk and buckled him in his seat. I was just about to start the car when I saw Jasper running out of the house, towards the car.

"What's up?" I asked as I put the window down. "He forget something?"

"Here," He breathed, handing me something that looked like a business card.

"What's this?"

"It's the number to one of my good friends," He whispered. "Someone I went to college with."

"Jazz,"

"He's a psychologist."

"No thanks," I shoved the card back in his hands. "I don't need a shrink."

"Look, everyone has always told me to just let you be and that you'd deal with this on your own," He looked back at Mason who was happily oblivious to the conversation we were having. "But it's been four years and you have a lot of..."

"Watch what you say, Jasper."

"Unresolved feelings about L...her just picking up and leaving you two," He smiled sadly as Mason started singing a song to himself. "You're never going to have the chance to really be with Bella if you have this feeling of abandonment looming over your head."

"I'm fine, Jasper."

"It's okay that you aren't, though," He sighed. "Just think about it. Make one appointment and if you don't think it would be helpful don't schedule a second. Isn't it worth a shot?"

"Thanks for taking him for the night," I ignored his last statement. "But we have to go."

Mom had done a really incredible with the new landscaping and we would be moving into our new home the next weekend. We had gotten a new living room and kitchen furniture, but we were taking our bedroom furniture with us and I needed time to get that all packed up. When we were finished with my Mom, I took Mason home and started making him dinner. I gave in since it had been such a weird day and just made us Annie's macaroni and cheese because I was honestly too tired to put in any real effort.

Plus, I felt like he deserved a treat after walking in on me with another woman.

After dinner, we put a puzzle together before it was time for his bath. After I had him clean and in his PJ's, he picked out a book for me to read to him as he fell asleep. He climbed into bed and snuggled up to me...just like he'd been doing since he could sit up. I read the book until I could hear his deep breathing and gave him a kiss on the head.

I left his room and settled down onto the couch, getting ready to call Bella to say goodnight to her. As I was pulling my phone out of my pocket, the car Jasper had given me fell out with it. I picked it up and looked at it for a long time.

Did I really have abandonment issues?

Probably. Jasper had most likely put in a lot of effort into thinking of ways to help me and I was starting to think I did need the help. I knew going to therapy didn't mean I was crazy or weak, but I just didn't love the idea of spilling my guts to a total stranger.

I unlocked my phone and made the call I had a feeling I would regret later.

"Hey, man,"

"Do you really think therapy would be helpful?" I blurted out, not wanting to make small talk

"I do."

"But why?"

"Because, if what happened with you and Lauren happened with me and Alice...I would need more help than my family could give me," He sighed. "You know we're all here for you, Edward but talking to a professional who can give you real coping mechanisms wouldn't be bad at all."

"I just want to move past this."

"And that's what Claire would help you do," He pointed out. "And if you'd rather talk to a guy, her husband is also a therapist and a damn good one."

"Then why'd you give me Claire's card?" I yanked his chain.

"Because I know her a little bit better than her husband," He sighed. "Look, do whatever you think is going to be the most helpful. But if you don't start dealing with this feeling of abandonment, you'll eventually push Bella away."

"I don't want that,"

"I know you don't," He sighed. "Just trust me. I wouldn't be telling you to do this if I thought it was going to be a terrible idea."

"I'll think about it," I agreed because deep down I knew I was going to call his friend and make an appointment. But I just couldn't commit to it quite yet for some reason. I said goodbye to Jasper and called Bella.

We talked for almost an hour and a half that night about random shit that we didn't know about each other yet. We seemed to have our deepest conversations at night and that night she needed to talk about how much she missed her mother. I couldn't imagine losing my Mom so young like she did and she just kept saying how she wished I could have met her.

I felt kind of selfish at that moment. Here I was...always talking about how hard my life had been ever since Lauren left and here she was...dealing with the fact that she'll never see her mother again. I realized then that therapy was going to be the best thing for me so I wasn't always dumping my problems on my family and girlfriend.

Because they had their problems too and I didn't want this relationship to always be focused on me. That's the kind of relationship I had with Lauren and that didn't work at all. We needed to have a more give and take kind of relationship for this to work.

"Bella?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," I smiled because it was the damn truth. "And I want you to know that you can come to me whenever you're feeling down about your Mom or if you just want to miss her."

"I know I can."

"Good," I sighed awkwardly.

"Daddy!" Mason called from his room and I reluctantly ended the conversation with Bella to go check on my son.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Hey guys! I am so sorry for this late update. Life at school got really crazy and my best friend is getting married next week so life, in general, has just been hectic. I'm really sorry to do this, but I am going to work at my summer camp on Friday so I won't be updating this story until August. I might be able to do something sooner, but it isn't likely. Thanks for being so patient with me. I can't wait to see where this story goes when I get back from camp!_


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